


When the Flowers Bloom

by WintersIce



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bullying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established friendship between Haru and Makoto, F/M, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Rumors, Sexual Harassment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-02-10 02:13:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18650827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WintersIce/pseuds/WintersIce
Summary: Haru had heard the rumors, it was impossible for her not to. Shujin students loved spreading gossip, much to her own dismay. She had heard of the ones involving Mr. Kamoshida, but that spring day was different. She learned of the 'dangerous' transfer student, and she couldn't help but think they were ridiculous. As she gets to know more about him, she realizes just how right she was. Yet, she knows there is still something going on with him behind the scenes that he won't tell her.Canon Divergence Persona 5 from Haru's POV so she gets the screen time she deserves.





	1. Whispers in the Hallways

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been so long since I last wrote something. After playing through the game and absolutely falling in love with Haru, it spurred me into doing this. I wish she has more screen time and hopefully Royal will amend that. In the meantime, this will be my take on how to give Haru more screen time. I hope you enjoy~

4/12 Tuesday  
  
She had heard the various rumors floating out of the mouths of the students. It was impossible to block out the murmurs and assumptions. The students of Shujin Academy were a rather gossipy bunch. Somehow, be it from word of mouth or the internet, they always had someone to whisper about.

The words were never kind of course. It would be hard to believe that the students of Shujin were capable of using their words for compliments rather than scorn. They were always speaking about what students were sleeping together, or which ones were causing mischief. It didn’t matter to them if there wasn’t any evidence to back those words up. It seemed like that was their forum of cruel entertainment.

 For Okumura Haru, she could never believe such baseless assumptions. Those cruel words emanated from the very students whose aim was set on her own heart. Haru’s father was the owner of Okumura Foods, best known for the chain of fast food restaurants known as Big Bang Burger. Thanks to that, her classmates had always assumed she was some snooty, well off girl. The type that saw herself above the rest of the ‘commoner’ students such as themselves.  

While the well-off part was true, she was far from snooty. Much like her soft, floofy chestnut hair, Haru had a soft heart. She wasn’t capable of speaking cruelly to or about anyone unless she had proof to back her words up. She had become accustomed to cruel words from her father and newly appointed fiancé. The pain…the despair…she wouldn’t want to inflict that pain onto anyone.

As much as she hated those words, she couldn’t avoid hearing the mummers. Just from sitting in her seat in the classroom, she’d hear theories spreading across the room. As of late, rumors about the school’s volleyball team coach, Mr. Kamoshida, was a popular topic. 

As she sat there, two of her female classmates were speaking ill will towards one girl in particular who was supposedly with the coach. Takamaki, a foreigner according to them, was the target of their hatred. They exclaimed that a girl like her wasn’t worthy of such a handsome, talented man like Kamoshida. That she was using her ‘sluty’ looks to lure the coach into her trap.

Haru couldn’t understand their fascination over the man. Sure, he was good at volleyball but that didn’t warrant a near obsession that encouraged hatred towards others. To her, he wasn’t even good looking. From her own experience, older men were more interested in youthful looks and statues rather than the girl herself. She couldn’t prove if Takamaki, whoever she was, was truly with such an older man. It didn’t mean she deserved to be spoken about in such a manner. Her eyes had wandered over to the girls, they didn’t look mean but the tone of their voices told another story. After a few moments of watching their interactions, one of the girl’s turned her head and noticed Haru’s curious glare.

“What do you want Okumura?” asked the girl in a harsh voice with matching eyes, “You have something to say to us?”

“N-no!” responded Haru in a high pitched, and rather frightened tone, “I-I’m sorry.”

The girl responded with a huff and returned her punitive glare to her companion, “Leave it to some rich bitch to listen onto our conversation. Guess she doesn’t have any manners; she should just mind her own damn business.”

Haru returned her glare to her desk, a gnawing feeling ate at her stomach. Mind her own business? They certainly weren’t doing such a thing. All they ever talk about is the rumors about the other students. That was, of course, not minding their own business.

 _“If only I was capable to talk back to them,”_ she thought to herself, _“To tell them it isn’t right to spread rumors that they can’t back up. If only I could be the heroine of justice I always wanted to be and stop these people from being nasty.”_

The rest of her day followed the usual routine. She paid attention, did her work, and took notes as the studious third year she was. When classes had ended for the day, Haru proceeded up the steps of the building while trying to ignore the words of her never-ending gossiping peers. The words she heard weren’t of the rumors she was already familiar with. It was about a mysterious transfer student that supposedly had a criminal record.

“I heard that he got busted for assault,” one male student exclaimed on the second year's floor, “Not only that but he’s been caught smoking, drinking, and stealing.”

“I heard he carries a knife with him at all times!” spoke his companion, “I’m afraid that if you set him off, he’ll stab ya! Why did they accept in such a terrible person? Today’s his second day and I feel he won’t last a month before being expelled.”

Haru couldn’t help but think that they were exaggerating. If he was that dangerous, wouldn’t he be in a school designated for criminal students or possibly juvenile hall? As she continued upwards to the roof, the mummers of this ‘extremely dangerous’ student didn’t end.

When she finally reached the roof, she let out a sigh as she leaned her back into the door, “I don’t understand how they can believe such things. He’s probably just a misunderstood person, no way someone could do all those things and not be in juvenile hall by now.”

Haru walked over to the small tomato planters on the ground and bent down to examine their leaves. They were placed near a couple of desks that, for whatever reason, was expelled from the inside of the school and had to live there. She appreciated the desks nonetheless; they came in handy for her belongs, such as her school bag, the watering can, and whatever plant nutrients she would bring along with her.

She had recently gotten into gardening and it quickly formed into a passion of hers. She was able to talk the school into allowing her to have a little garden for growing fruits and vegetables. For now, all she had were the small tomato plants, but the principle promised they’d install small soil boxes for her. When that would happen was a mystery though.

“Grow up nice and healthy, okay?” she spoke gently to her precious plants, “I hope father will enjoy the tomatoes.”

While Haru’s father had grown ruthless in recent months, she still loved him. She had hoped that maybe she could lighten his attitude by showing him how hard she was working on her garden. Maybe, just maybe he would give her a little smile and tell her to keep it up and continue improving. She spent the remainder of her day taking care of the tomatoes before she decided it was time to head home. As she made her way down the steps, she remembered she needed to get more nutrients for her tomatoes at the flower shop Rafflesia soon.

* * *

 

4/13 Wednesday

Haru had followed her normal routine per usual until the afternoon hit. The school was holding a rally for the volleyball team, with Mr. Komshida and his fellow sports coaches playing against his team. She had no interest in attending the event, so she decided to stay in her classroom to use her time to look through a gardening book she had recently purchased.

She was focusing intently on the book until her stomach gave off a low grumble. She then pulled out her phone to check the time. She hadn’t eaten yet, so she decided it was a good time to take a break for lunch. Her maids had prepared her lunch per usual, so she never had to buy anything from the cafeteria expect for a drink. She placed a bookmarker of a cat sleeping under a tree into her book and returned it to its resting place within her desk.

Haru exited her classroom and began to walk down the hallway when she saw something odd. A boy with frizzy, curly black hair and glasses was speaking with a male student she recognized from her class. Next, to the student she recognized was another boy, but he was covered in bandages. His right eye was completely covered as the bandages wrapped about his head. His right arm, as well as his left leg, was also covered up. She had noticed students wrapped up in bandages recently which she thought was odd. She knew sports training could get intense and cause injuries, but so many from only the volleyball team were suspicious. Admittingly, she hadn’t looked into the situation outside of the injured students she would pass by.

“Like I said, Mr. Kamoshida isn’t abusing us!” yelled the injured boy defensibly, “This just happened from practice. It gets intense when you’re caught in the heat of the moment.”

“You don’t have to hide it,” responded the black-haired boy in a gentle voice, “We’re trying to stop him from abusing anyone else, you don’t have to be afraid of him.”

“Can you not hear asshole?! He hasn’t done anything, so leave me alone,” responded the injured one angrily.

The boy with the glasses responded with a simple, “Okay, I’ll go. If anything changes, don’t be afraid to tell me.”

“Pfft, why would he tell you anything,” spoke the boy from her class, “You’re more likely to assault anyone than Mr. Kamoshida!”

 _“So, he’s the transfer student,”_ Haru thought to herself as she continued to watch the scene unfolding before her.

Without saying another word, the transfer student started to walk towards her. The boy in her class gave him a dirty look and returned to his conversation with his injured companion. As the transfer student got closer to her, she saw a saddened look from his eyes. They didn’t hold any malice, just a soft, gloomy look as if he had just wanted to help out the wounded student. She couldn’t stop staring at him, for being such a ‘dangerous person’ he reminded her of a cat. Soft, fluffy, with a kind pair of gray eyes. From appearances only, he didn’t look like the type that would assault someone. If anything, the way he behaved made her think he was more interested in helping people, not hurting them.

“Do you need something?” he asked in a light tone as he came to a halt in front of her.

“Ahh, uhh!” she responded as his voice pulled her back into reality, “I-I’m sorry for staring! I, uh, ahhh…”   

He started to walk past her after her squeals of fluster but stopped once more and spoke, “Do you happen to know anything about the volleyball team?”

“I do not,” she replied in a calmer tone as she turned to look at him, “I do think…well, it’s strange that so many of them are hurt. None of the other sport team members seem to have similar wounds. Why do you think Mr. Kamoshida is abusing them?”

“I have a hunch, but I need proof,” he replied to her as he moved his head over to look her in the eyes. Nothing about his face screamed criminal, it was just…soft, “If I find don’t proof, nothing will change here.”

“I-I see,” she replied as she stared into his eyes hidden away by the glasses, “Good luck then.”

“Thank you,” and with those words, he continued to walk past her and then into another hall out of her sight.

With him gone, Haru’s mind started to wander, _“So that’s the ‘criminal’ transfer student. He doesn’t seem bad; I wonder if I’ll run into him again? I wonder if Mr. Kamoshida is truly guilty, or if this is just another baseless rumor? I never interacted with him so I can’t really say. Thankfully he’s trying to gather evidence unlike the rest of the students that are just interested in rumors for their own enjoyment.”_

With those final thoughts, the fluffy haired girl returned to her previous mission of getting something to drink for her meal. She couldn’t shake the thoughts of the frizzy-haired boy and what he said out of her head.


	2. The Rooftop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here’s a quick update for you all! I forgot to mention this last chapter, but I’m replaying the game and taking notes to help me with the story and fill it with little details I notice along the way. Enjoy~

4/15 Friday

Haru expected the day to go like any other. She arrived at her school early like she preferred, went to her classroom and spent her morning free time reading her gardening book. Her class started at the usual time, and she expected the rest of the day to flow in the normal pattern. That was until she heard an explosion of noise emanating from the hallway. Echoes of loud, confused voices bounced throughout the hall. With every second the sound of reverberating shoes slamming against the wooden floor grew as if they had to flee an attack.

“She’s going to jump!” she heard multiple different voices shouting. 

“Oh God someone needs to stop her!” yelled a distinctive female voice.

“Is she going to die if she jumps?!” exclaimed a male voice.

At that point, her classmates started to run out of the room despite the protests from the teacher to remain put. They couldn’t resist the hums of fear and the desire to see a dreadful sight. After a disgruntle bark, the teacher proceeded to chase after all the students that ran into the hallway.

Haru though, remained still. She didn’t know what she should do. It sounded like someone was about to…try and kill themselves. Why would anyone want to see something so tragic unless they were going to try and stop them? Was it because of human’s innate curiosity? She continued to stay in her seat as she watched the remainder of her classmates leave to join the other perplexed students. The noises emanating from the open door continued to grow as more shrieks traveled down the hallway.

While reluctant to join the rest of her peers, Haru rose from her seat. She decided she would ask someone about what was happening, but had no intention to go near the scene. The teachers needed to be there to handle the situation, and having more students there wouldn’t help the poor girl.

As Haru entered the hallway, the audience all screeched in terror. She saw students backing away from the window with shocked expressions, and some even looked as though they were about to puke. Other ones though, they ran away from the windows as they pushed and shoved one another. It appeared that they were rushing to go elsewhere.

“Did she?” mumbled Haru in a disheartened tone as she walked closer to the crowd.

As she continued to walk closer, a familiar face walked past her. A girl with distinct red eyes, and short dark brown hair. Her normally serene face was downcast, likely due to the incident.

“Mako-chan!” Haru yelled to the girl as she trotted closer to her, “What’s going on?”

The girl stopped, and turned her worried face to Haru, “A girl, I don’t know who, she jumped off the roof. She’s in the courtyard and I’m going to check out the situation right now.”

“Do you think…she’s going okay?” asked Haru as she pulled her arms up to her chest.

The student council president and fellow third year, Niijima Makoto, dropped her gaze down to the wooden floor beneath her. She clenched her left arm, visibly unsure how to respond to the inquiry. Haru had become acquainted with her from the previous year, and they became friends. Thanks to Makoto’s support she was able to get approved for the additional gardening space. While she didn’t speak with Makoto on a regular basis, Haru considered themselves friends. They would occasionally have lunch together if Makoto wasn’t busy with student council business. She even helped Haru bring the tomato planters up to the roof. Unlike the rest of the students of Shujin, Makoto was her closet and basically the only friend she had.

“I-I’m not sure, but I’ll let you know later. For now, just return to your classroom and stay out of the teacher’s way. A lot of students are crowding and making it difficult to deal with the situation properly.”

Haru nodded her head and replied, “Okay, do your best out there Mako-chan.”

With a slight smile and nod, the brunette turned her back to Haru and carried onto her destination. After Makoto faded from Haru’s sight, she did as asked and returned to her classroom. She was alone in the room for about twenty minutes before her classmates began to slowly shuffle back into the room. They were all talking about what they had seen.

“I can’t believe none of the teachers went with her in the ambulance,” exclaimed a friendly looking girl, “Takamaki jumped in and none of them said a word about it. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that none of the teachers give a shit about a girl wanting to die.”

There was that name again, Takamaki. Was the girl that jumped a friend of hers? As Haru continued to listen to the mummers of the students, most of them were rambling on about how intense it was. None of them seemed to have any concrete information about the reason for the attempted suicide. All they knew was a girl, close to the foreigner, had attempted to take her own life. That and the teachers didn’t seem all that concerned for her wellbeing.  

* * *

 

4/16 Saturday

 “Suzui Shiho, a second year student. She has average grades, and is an excellent member of the volleyball team,” explained Makoto, “Nothing I found out about her seems to imply she’d be having a rough time.”

She and Haru had agreed to meet up that day in the student council room to discuss the incident. The room was usually empty during lunch, as such, it would prevent curious ears from eavesdropping on their conversation. They didn’t want any more rumors to be added on to what seemed like a never-ending list. When Makoto mentioned the volleyball team, Haru couldn’t help but tense up her back.

“Do you know if…if she had any injuries caused by practice?” asked Haru as she lightly squished the juice carton in her hands.

“She had a knee injury recently and I was told that she had a visible bruise above her eye,” responded the darker haired brunette, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I heard something the other day,” she replied while playing the scene out with the blacked haired boy, “That some students think that Mr. Kamoshida has been abusing his team.”

It couldn’t be some coincidence. The injured volleyball team members, the cat-like boy going around saying he knew of the abuse, and then the attempted suicide by Shiho. She normally wouldn’t take part in such speculation, but there were too many dots connected to the same man.

Makoto turned her head and made a ‘hmm’ noise as she thought about the situation, “I’ve heard about that too but, is there any proof? We can’t go accusing a coach over rumors. Honestly, it is odd that the only ones really hurt stem from the volleyball team.”

“I-I don’t know. If the students that have been hurt file a complaint with the principle, then there would be something to go off of. All we have right now is conjecture unless…”

“Unless what Haru?” asked Makoto in an inquisitive tone.

“W-well unless that transfer student actually finds a way to prove it,” she explained, “I saw him asking a boy about his injuries. He seemed so sure that Mr. Kamoshida was the one inflicting them. He could have possibly overheard something, or maybe he saw something but the other students don’t want to admit to it due to fear of the abuse getting worse.”

Makoto leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling above her head. Haru watched as she was lost in thought before Makoto finally returned her gaze to her companion. She had a stern look in her eyes, but they didn’t come off as frightening.

“I don’t know if we can trust this boy,” she began, “I haven’t met him. If he’s onto something though, I hope he can really prove it. If he can’t, he better not cause trouble for any of the teachers or students. That could make his situation worse than it already is. Also, Haru.”

“Yes?” responded the floofy haired girl.

“Be careful, please. I know the rumors are excessive, but he has been charged with assault. The principal told me he’s on probation and if he does anything to cause trouble, he’ll be expelled immediately. I don’t know the circumstances of the charges, but if you spend time with him, be careful. I don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“Oh Mako-chan…” replied Haru. She could see the concern seeping out of Makoto’s face and her voice was soft. Haru couldn’t fault her for the concern, anyone would be after they had been informed of the situation. Despite all of that, something in her gut told her he wouldn’t do her any harm. She couldn’t explain it, but…

“I’ll be okay, Mako-chan. I know this may seem odd,” she explained while giving her friend a confident and soft smile, “I don’t think he’s a bad guy.”

* * *

 

4/19 Tuesday

Haru had ventured up to the rooftop to tend to her tomatoes after class that day. Even after the incident with Shiho, no one had locked the doors to the roof. There was a sign on the door that explained how it was off limits, but the administration didn’t seem to really care. When she first came up the other day, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander to the incident. She still needed to take care of her crops of course and she couldn’t let it slow her down. She felt horrible for her underclassman, but those thoughts couldn’t stop her from returning to the roof.

She noticed something odd when she came up that day. One of the desks near the rooftop door had an empty bottle of some sort of carbonated drink and a bread wrapper. Someone could have had their lunch there, but it would have been nice for them to clean up the mess they created. Whoever it was better not touch her precious tomatoes.

As she tended to said tomatoes the nutrients, which she purchased the previous evening, she heard the door behind her open. She turned her head and saw a familiar black-haired boy standing in the doorway. He held his smartphone in his hand, and it gave off a little ping.

“Hello again,” spoke Haru as she rose up from the concrete ground while wiping off her hands on the pants of her tracksuit, “What brings you up here?  

He darted his head to look at his phone, and then back up to the girl. He gave off a little sigh and…did she just hear a meow? She thought he was like a cat, but he certainly didn’t meow. He readjusted his school bag before he started to walk toward her, “I like it up here, it’s away from prying eyes.”

“I see, up here you don’t have to hear all the rumors about you,” she replied. She had heard another batch of rumors surrounding the boy. That he and two other students known as Sakamoto and Mishima were going to be expelled by Mr. Kamoshida. That man’s name kept appearing as of late, and it didn’t help quell her suspicion towards the coach. Supposedly it was due to them attempting to assault him. How a coach could hold that power was beyond her, she believed that only her principal had the power to do that.

The boy nodded his head and turned his gaze to the tomatoes, “So you’re the one taking care of these? I wondered what they were doing up here.”

“That’s correct. The school sadly doesn’t have room for a greenhouse, so I’ve been making use of the rooftop for the time being,” explained Haru with a small smile.

“Is that hard, um?” started the boy as he scratched the back of his neck.

“Huh?” she was confused for a moment before she caught on, “Oh! I’m Haru, Okumura Haru.”

“Akira. Kurusu Akira,” he said before he returned to his previous statement, “Is it hard to raise them up on a roof? I feel that it would be hard to do, especially if the sun settles elsewhere and they don’t get the right amount they need. The wind this high up could be a problem too.”

“Well, this is the first time I’m doing this, so I can’t really say,” she started to say as she placed her hands together, “It has been a little hard so far but I think it’ll go okay. I’m not sure how well they’ll taste but I want to try my best. Do you like to garden Kurusu-kun?”

He tugged on a strand of his frizzy hair and explained, “I used to live in a country town, so my school had a variety of classes on farming and the sorts. While the one I attended wasn’t an agriculture-based school, we were given the chance to take classes on the basics of subjects like dairy, the economics of crops and how to care for them, large animal veterinary practices, and so on.”

Haru’s face lightened up as he spoke. She didn’t peg him for a country boy, but it interested her to see what he knew, “I’m sure most people wouldn’t say such a thing, but I find that very interesting! I’ve been reading up on gardening and how to properly tend to the crops actually.”

Akira gave off a small chuckle, “I didn’t expect I’d be talking about this in the big city. I thought city people wouldn’t be interested in it. I did take a class on the basics of taking care of crops along with some other ones, I could show you a thing or two if you’d be interested.”

With a clap of her hands, Haru exclaimed, “I’d appreciate that Kurusu-kun! I want to try and impress my father with my crops actually.”

Akira looked as though he was about to speak again when they heard a couple of bangs that emanated from behind. They both turned their heads and there stood two people in front of the door. One was a boy with obviously dyed blonde hair with his fist on the desk and a girl that appeared foreign.

“Sorry to interrupt your intriguing conversation about crops country boy,” spoke the blonde in a rugged tone, “But don’t we have some business to take care of involving a certain asshole? Not only that but who’s the chick?”

“She’s the one taking care of the tomatoes Ryuji,” explained Akira as he adjusted his glasses, “I just happened to run into her up here.”

“Do you mind us using the roof to talk? It’s easier up for us considering his situation,” asked the girl in a friendly toner.

“O-of course!” replied Haru quickly, “The roof isn’t just mine to use after all. All I ask is that you don’t hurt the tomatoes and keep it tidy.”

The girl gave her a nod in agreement as she twirled her light hair with her finger while the boy just let out a grunt. She turned her gaze to Akira and he gave her a nod as well which solidified the agreement. She walked over the desk with her school bag, picked it up and made her way back over to Akira.

“I’ll take my leave then for the day, and I enjoyed our conversation Kurusu-kun. I’ll be looking forward to what you have to show me in the future,” she explained before turning her gaze to the other two, “It was nice to meet you two as well, and please be mindful of the tomatoes.”

“It was nice speaking with you too,” replied Akira who gave her a small smile, “I promise that nothing will happen to them.”

With those words, Haru walked towards the door as the other two walked up to their friend. She stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her. She walked forward a bit near the large pile of desks but came to a standstill. She waited a few moments before she heard noise emanating from her previous location.

“Alright! Let’s work on taking that son of a bitch Kamoshida down!” yelled the boy she heard called Ryuji, “There is no way I’m letting that pedo asshole get us expelled! He’s gonna pay for all the shit he pulled!”

“Ryuji not so loud, jeez. We don’t need that girl hearing us,” responded the female in a lower but still audible tone.

“ _So, they do know something the rest of us don’t,”_ thought Haru as she moved to the steps to hide in case one of them would open the door, _“Just what are they up to?”_

Three people believed that the coach was guilty and seemed to be determined to find the evidence to expose him. They weren’t spreading rumors; they were taking action, unlike the students that would only run their mouths. A part of her wanted to get involved, the part that longed to become a heroine of justice. To see what she could do to help, and bring about the justice that the weak couldn’t do themselves. She refrained herself though, _“For now I’ll just wait and see what happens,”_ she thought. With that, she started to make her way home for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of the protagonist being a farm boy came to me after Sojiro called him a country boy. It just seems right in my head so figured to go with it, gives him an excuse to hang out with Haru.


	3. Pride and Arrogance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again with a quick update. Hope ya enjoy, this chapter was a tad bit harder than the other two to write.

4/21 Thursday

“I wonder if that transfer kid is gonna do something to Mr. Kamoshida again before he gets expelled,” pondered a male Shujin student that was propped up against a wall.

“He tried once with Sakamoto and Mishima and I don’t think they were able to do anything. Kurusu could probably do the most damage considering his record,” responded his companion, “Just remind me to stay clear of the guy, I don’t feel like getting my ass kicked over a glare or some dumb shit like that. Sakamoto is a trouble maker but I’m not afraid of him.”

As another school day came to a close, the rumors were still going strong. Haru sighed to herself as she exited her classroom on the first floor. The two boys before her were no different than the other students. She had heard the rumors in her classroom, the lady’s room, the hallway, and even the library. No place, except for the roof, seemed to be safe from the seemingly never-ending bombardment of words. She thought they’d get bored with the subject after a while but that didn’t seem like the case. Those students, did they have nothing better to do with their time?

_“I wonder how this makes Kurusu-kun feels,”_ the fluffy third-year thought to herself as she slowly began to walk down the hallway, her eyes lowered to the lighten wooden floor below her feet.

While she had only interacted with the boy twice, the so-called dangerous transfer student had not appeared that way to her in the slightest. She was suspicious of his activities with his companions, but nothing about his body language screamed dangerous. He had a soft, yet sad and distant stare in his eyes the other day. The stare hadn’t frightened her in the slightest, and the tone he used with her was kind. She couldn’t detect any malice seeping from his voice, which she had become accustomed to detecting. He even wanted to help her take care of her tomatoes! Her, a complete stranger! She couldn’t believe someone that gave off a caring aura could be bad.

“Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” she heard from an annoyed older man’s voice that emanated from behind her, “Here to cause me more trouble?”

Haru had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed who she had walked past. The voice returned her to the real world, which caused her to turn her body around to inspect the situation. The voice came from the man of many rumors and possibly assault, Mr. Kamoshida. She wasn’t able to see his face, but the tone he had used was far from soft. He stood up straight, but his arms looked tense as if he wanted to smack something.

“No, I’m just passing by,” responded an oddly familiar voice in a lower tone. Haru shifted her body over a tad so she could see who the coach addressed. It was none other than Akira.

“Well, don’t try anything funny with me brat,” spat out the couch as malice gained control of his voice, “No matter what you do, you’re going to be expelled. Enjoy the time you have left here and stay out of my way.”

Akira gave off a small smirk, and to her surprise, his seemingly distant eyes gained a small spark of fire, “I’ll make sure to enjoy my time here to the fullest _sir_.” His tone transformed from calm to smug, especially with his emphasis on sir.

“Don’t use that tone with me brat,” growled the coach, “You’re just the scum underneath my feet. You have no right to talk to someone like me. If you’re going to keep that up, you don’t want to know what I’m going to do to you, ya little piece of shit. You already know what I did to Sakamoto, don’t make me do the same thing to you.”

Akira responded to him with a nod of his head. The coach had just threatened his own student, but none of their fellow peers paid any mind to the conversation. They carried on with their own conversations or walked by without giving the two a single look. They were in their own world, oblivious to the rest of their surroundings. Perhaps, they wanted to block it out?

_“Are they ignoring this because they’re scared of him? Or do they just not care what he says or does to Kurusu-kun?”_ she thought to herself as she watched them, _“Or do they think it’s okay because he’s supposedly dangerous?”_

She wouldn’t put it past the students to ignore Akira due to his record. Why would they concern themselves with his well being when he was the topic of so many rumors since he arrived?  For all she knew, they could be fine with Mr. Kamoshida speaking down on the boy if it meant they’d be spared his wrath. What she did know was his behavior was not that of a teacher, but of a man that looked down on the boy, or possibly all of his students.

_"This isn’t right, if only I could do something to help him,”_ Haru thought as Akira looked away from the coach and straight at her. For just a moment that smirk faded from his mouth, along with the spark from his eyes. He appeared…surprised? Or was it concern?

Mr. Kamoshida noticed the change in his opponent and turned his back on the boy. A grotesque smirk formed on the older man's face which sent a shiver down Haru’s spine, and she pulled her free arm to her chest and held them there as the other one held her school bag. She instinctively stepped back. The glare in his eyes, they reminded her of her fiancé when he was annoyed, even over the tiniest thing.  

“What’s this?” spoke the man as he started to walk toward the slightly frightened girl, “I didn’t notice we had an audience.”

“I-I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to pry,” Haru stammered as she turned her gaze to the floor, unable to look the man in the face. That was an all too familiar feeling. She could feel his malevolent gaze as he scanned over her body.

“It’s alright Okumura,” he spoke as he placed his hand firmly on her shoulder, jolting her body upward so she had to look him in the eyes, “I was just telling this problem child to stay in line. We all know he’s going to be expelled, but in the meantime, he still needs to be reminded to behave. You don’t need to be scared of anything.”

He feigned kindness, but she knew better. She had grown used to such bravado. He pretended that he was benevolent, but his corrupted desires still seeped through his tone. It was just like her fiancé, his words appeared kind but the wicked intentions could still be detected.

Haru didn’t respond to his words, but she knew her face screamed of fear. If she could speak her mind, she’d say Akira wasn’t the one she was frightened of. She, of course, was unable to do it. She just stared at the man as she attempted to read his expression for a motive. Her lack of a response didn’t work in her favor, for the older man inched in closer to her as he tightly squeezed her shoulder. She winced in pain but didn’t let allow a sound to slip out.

“Are you scared of speaking here?” he asked as though he was attempting to prompt her to respond, “If you want, we could talk privately in my office?”

Before she was able to even process the meaning of his offer, Akira walked up to them. He pushed himself in-between them, which forced Mr. Kamoshida to remove his arm from Haru’s shoulder and back up a bit. As Akira stood there in a protective stance, something in her chest fluttered. She couldn’t see his face, but from his body posture alone, she felt a warm protective aura float off of him. He stood up straight, arms at his side with the palm of his hands facing her direction. He came to defend her, even though they had just met. It was rather…princely of him?

“Oh, you want to stop me?” the coach responded in an arrogant voice, “This is just another incident I can apply to your rap sheet. First, you and your friends attempted to assault me in my office, and then you force yourself between a teacher attempting to help a student.”

Akira didn’t say a word to the man, but it felt like the boy was staring back at him in defiance. After a few moments passed, the older man gave up on the staring contest. He gave off an annoyed sigh and turned his back to the two students. He didn’t even give the two a parting line before he began to walk down the hallway where the classrooms stood. When his back was gone from their view, a group of girls squealed out his name.

“They blindly worship the creep,” Akira murmured to himself before he turned his head to look closely at Haru, “How’s your shoulder? He didn’t hurt it, did he?”

“N-no, I’m okay,” she responded lightly as she felt herself blush a little from his kind actions and proximity, “What was that all about Kurusu-kun?”

She watched as Akira looked around the hallway. The students that witnessed the incident and ignored it just moments earlier had their eyes plastered on the two of them. They didn’t want to get involved when Mr. Kamoshida was around but the moment, he vanished they were curious. Haru could feel that someone was staring at her back.

“Let’s get out of here,” he spoke before he started to move away from her and toward the staircase. He didn’t say where, but she already knew. She trotted after her underclassman as they made their way to her little gardening space.

When they reached the rooftop, Akira moved toward the tomatoes and gently placed his bag on a desk. He then placed his thin back against the vent closet to the desk and gave off a sigh. Haru had followed after him, and placed her schoolbag on a separate desk and then sat on a folding chair near his spot.

“Kurusu-kun, what was that all about?” she asked him in a light tone.

“That was Kamoshida’s attempt to provoke me into doing something,” he explained as he stared at her, “I guess when I saw you standing there, I let myself look concerned when I shouldn’t have. I didn’t expect to see you there. He caught wind of it and tried to use you to get to me. He probably figured I’d step in, but wanted me to hit him or something. Too bad for him I have better control over my emotions than some other people.”

“What did he threaten me with?” she responded as she clasped her hands together on her lap. As they walked to the roof, her mind pondered over the true meaning of his words, but she couldn’t come to a single conclusion.

He turned his gaze away from her, and after a few moments of silence, he replied back, “He was going to hurt you. He threatened you the same way he has been threatening the volleyball team members. Do you think he’s guilty now?”

From his behavior, it was obvious to Haru that he didn’t care about the students. The way he had spoken to Akira, the way he had hurt her shoulder to try to get her to say something. She felt the imitation ooze off of his body as he leered at her. He had attempted to drag her into his scheme just to get at Akira for defying him. She didn’t have physical proof, but his actions were enough to sway her heart.

“Yes, his behavior wasn’t that of a teacher wanting to look out for his students. It was of a man with ulterior motives, who appears to enjoy tormenting his students for whatever reason. He said you were beneath him, that alone shows he’s condescending,” she responded confidently.

“Condescending is just the beginning on how you can describe the guy,” replied Akira before he motioned his head back over to Haru, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied as a small smile crossed over her face, “And thank you for stepping in and stopping him Kurusu-kun. I wouldn’t have been able to tell him to leave me alone.”

“I’m glad,” he replied with a genuine smile that somehow made Haru’s face warm up a bit, “I’m sorry for getting you involved with this Haru. If I hadn’t reacted, he would have just ignored you.”

“No no, I’m sorry for watching! If I didn’t pry then none of that would have happened,” she began before she took a pause, “But why did you react like that? You barely know me.”

“You don’t have to apologize, and I don’t like seeing people get hurt, especially,” he began softly as he stepped forward and walked closer to her, “Someone that has been nice to me. A lot of the students here, as you can guess, enjoy saying whatever they please about me. Besides the two you saw the other day, you’re the only other one that has been genuinely kind to me. I’d prefer not to watch the nice people around me get pushed around.”

His words clicked within Haru. It didn’t surprise her to hear that people were rude to the boy. The rumors, they must have stung at his heart. The ongoing problem with the coach didn’t help his situation either she assumed. She had forgotten for a moment he was a criminal. How could a boy that seemed additament on helping people, even the ones he didn’t know, be one? She wanted to ask but settled that wasn’t the time for such a thing.

He stuck out his hand out to her and spoke again, “Would like to become friends Haru?”

Without a moment of hesitation, with a feeling in her stomach that urged her to act, she stuck out her hand and shock the boys, “I would like very much Kurusu-kun.” She couldn’t explain the feeling, but she just knew he would become someone she could rely on. She could also get to prove to Makoto he was a truly good person despite his record.

With a ping, Akira pulled his hand away from Haru’s and stuck it into his pants pocket. He pulled out his phone to check the notification he had received. He took a few moments and replied to whoever but he didn’t return it to his pocket.

“Could I have your contact information?” he asked.

Haru reached for her school bag on the desk, pulled out her phone, and gave the boy a nod. In a matter of moments, they had exchanged their information. She pondered to herself when was the last time she shared her information with anyone that wasn’t forced upon her by her father. Last year maybe?

They both returned their phones to their homes, and then Haru spoke up, “What are you going to do about Mr. Kamoshida?”

She noticed Akira stiffen at her question, but he didn’t avert his gaze and spoke in what sounded like a prideful tone, “Me and my friends are gathering information, so don’t worry about it. I’m sure things will work out.”

“What if they don’t?” she asked with a turn of her head, she’d be disappointed if her new friend would be expelled by that no-good man and the abuse wouldn’t stop.

“If they don’t then I’m screwed,” he chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck.

“That isn’t something to laugh at Kurusu-kun,” Haru replied with a tiny pout, “I could tell the principal about what I saw, that could help the situation.” She wasn’t brave enough to stand up against the coach, but if she told her side of the story then maybe they’d listen. Her family name gave her enough clout to pull strings, but she never wanted to take apart of that. It didn’t feel right to abuse the power that came from her name, but in certain situations, it wouldn’t hurt. Especially if it was for the greater good.

“I know, but we just have to hope for the best. If it comes to that I’d appreciate your testimony but for now let’s wait,” he replied before another ping emanated from his pocket. He brought out his phone once more and responded again before he returned his gaze to his new found friend, “I’m sorry but I have to go. My friend keeps sending me messages telling me to get him snacks, and I should take care of it before it gets too late.”

With those words, he walked over to the desk and picked up his school bag. As he began toward the door, Haru stood up and walked over to him with her bag in hand, “Do you mind, umm,” she paused and turned her gaze to the concrete below her, “Would it be alright for me to walk with you for a little?”

“Sure,” he replied as he opened the door and held it open for her to walk through. After a thank you, Haru walked back into the school and she could have sworn something had just meowed a few times. She turned her head to both her sides in search of the phantom cat.

“D-did you just hear a cat?” she asked her companion in a confused tone, “I could have sworn I heard one up here the other day too.”

“Nope,” replied Akira as he closed the door behind them. He then roughly readjusted his school bag and started to walk past her, “So, what would you like to know about crops Haru?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap. I hope ya enjoyed the chapter. I noticed that Kamoshida walks around the first floor and forces you into a conversation if you walk up to him. So, that was where the idea of this chapter came from. I’m also terrible with coming up with chapter names, so this one came from Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight episode 3’s insert song. I was listening to the anime’s inert songs while I was writing this, and I recommend a listen if you’d like singing stage girls that have to fight each other. The song really doesn’t connect to the chapter, but I thought the title was fitting. This also won’t be the last time I’ll be adding a song reference in.


	4. Timely Confidence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up a lot longer than I intended, woops.

4/21 Thursday  
  
“Excuse me, father?” spoke Haru as she knocked on the wooden door to her father’s study that evening, “May I come in?”

The Okumura estate was an extremely lavished building, but it wasn’t exactly a mansion. Her father, Kunikazu, could afford multiple mansions if he desired them, but he had settled on a somewhat smaller chunk of land for their home. They had a large yard, a lavish western styled dining room, and numerous rooms with a variety of furniture decorated throughout them. One room, in particular, was dedicated to her father’s precious collection of collectibles. The majority of the rooms never got much use unless her father had business partners and their families stay over.  

It was just the two of them after her mother died. While the home was bustling with life from the vast number of servants, it wasn’t the same. Her father usually walled himself off from her and surrounded himself in his work. He would occasionally eat dinner with her, and if he had finished early, he would attempt to engage in a conversation with his daughter. Those chats were always brief, and before she could continue, he would go off to his study.

His ability to run a business outclassed his ability to be a father by miles. Her mother and grandfather were the ones she spent time with the most in her younger years. On the occasion he was free, Kunikazu did try to find time to spend with her. She had memories of family activities, but there weren’t many of them. Despite the small amount, she remembered being happy back then. She recalled how nice it was to actually have a loving family.

He was gentler back then too, and a smile wasn’t so rare to spy on his face. One thing they used to do was watch movies together. Kunikazu had a love of sci-fi movies and TV series, and they used to watch his favorite ones together. He even showed her how to put together model kits, a passion of his from his childhood. It was thanks to him she developed a taste for horror films. It was an American hybrid sci-fi horror movie about an alien attacking a spaceship’s crew that kicked off the interest.

“You can come in,” he replied to her in an uninterested tone.

Haru opened the large doors and was greeted to the vast space known as her father’s study. A gray couch with pillows on both end and coffee table rested near the entrance of the room. The table was made of glass and had a small vase with marigolds she had grown on the balcony of her room. They weren’t anything special, but she was still happy to know he appreciated the gift. The walls were aligned with bookshelves, that held books her father had used for reference for his business. They also contained binders with work-related papers that weren’t stored in the filing cabinets that could also be seen in the room.

His desk was a typical one, with a window facing out behind him. The light-colored desk was scattered with papers and her father’s work computer. Behind his desk and near the window was a glass case filled with a variety of toys and memorabilia of different series her father enjoyed. While the majority was in a separate room, he enjoyed having some in the study for decoration. No matter how much he changed, nothing could stop his desire of collecting the toys he wanted as a child but was unable to have.  
  
She walked up to her father, who wore a black business suit that matched with his hair. His face looked drained, and Haru could spy an outline of dark circles hiding under his eyes behind his glasses.  

“What do you need?” he asked as he looked at his daughter.

“Well, something happened at school today and I wanted to tell you,” she spoke softly as she raised her hand to the shoulder Mr. Kamoshida squeezed earlier. When she got home, she checked it out. It looked fine, but she wanted to tell her father nonetheless.

“Haru, you know I don’t have time for trivial matters like these,” complained her father, “I have more important things to do than listen to you about something silly that happened.”

Haru shook her head and gathered the courage to reply to him, “It isn’t silly, a teacher squeezed my shoulder really tight earlier and threatened me. I think he has been hurting his students on the volleyball team too.”

Kunikazu’s expression changed from disinterested to slightly worried, “Haru, what did he say to you?”

“After he hurt my shoulder, he wanted to talk to me alone in his office after I saw him talk down on another student. The other student told me it meant he was going to hurt me…” she trailed off as she recalled the incident from earlier that day.

“And?” he replied as the tiny worry faded from his face, “Do you have any proof he’s actually hurting anyone? Accusations like that are steep to make without any proof.”

“N-no father, I don’t have any proof,” spoke Haru as she dropped her eyes to the floor, “But he really did hurt my shoulder.”

Kunikazu sighed, “Haru, that student probably lied to you, you know how those children are. That teacher likely didn’t mean anything by that, and I doubt there is any abuse. The school would have taken care of it by now if there was.”

“But father,” started Haru as she returned her eyes to look at his.

“Haru, I have a lot of work to do. Unless you have proof on this man, I highly doubt anything is actually happening. Now go back to your room, I need to finish this up by morning,” responded Kunikazu in an aggravated tone as he looked down at the papers on his desk.

“Yes, father…” responded the girl in a defeated tone before she turned her back on him and began to walk toward the doors. Before she could open them, she heard him call out to her.

“Your shoulder though, is that alright?” he asked as a tiny dribble of concern snuck out of his throat.  
  
She turned to look at the older man. His eyes were still locked on the papers beneath him, but she appreciated the question. She knew trying to convivence her father of any wrongdoing without proof would be a difficult battle. He never believed her when she informed him of the cruelty of her ill-tempered fiancé. Why would he suddenly change his thought process when it came to a teacher? If only she had more courage, then maybe she’d be able to convivence him. If only she wasn’t scared of his cruel words and darkened eyes…

“It’s alright, it hurt a bit earlier but I’m fine,” she replied lowly.

“Alright then,” he spoke as he kept his eyes locked beneath him, “That’s good. Good night Haru.”

“Good night father,” responded the fluffy haired girl before she left his office.  
  
Haru started to make her way back to her room. She figured the conversation would end as it did. Her father had become distant in the last few years. The more money her family made, the colder he became it seemed. With every day that passed, the person she once knew as her father transformed into the man she saw. He no longer wanted to watch movies with her, he never showed her his new collectibles, and he rarely tried to interact with her. He had forced a horrible fiancé upon her but she couldn’t run away from him. No matter what she told Kunikazu about that man, Sugimura, he always brushed it off. No matter what she said he never believed her words. He always wrote it off as some type of misunderstanding.

“Why did I even try,” mumbled Haru as she felt tears well up in her eyes, “Father, he always ignores the bad things that happen to me anymore. Then I end up upset over something I already knew would happen. If something had happened to me, would he truly care about it?”

She missed her old father. She missed the days she had a family. She missed the good times she once had in the home that slowly became the cage she couldn’t escape from. She knew she became a pawn for her father, but her heart didn’t want to give up. Haru couldn’t stop herself from loving her father. She wanted to impress him, to show how capable she was, all out of the hope that he would return to the days he praised her. He had done mean things to her as a child, but none of those things could surpass his recent behavior.

By the time she reached the sanctuary that was her bedroom, she couldn’t hold her tears in any longer and cried.

* * *

4/22 Friday

  
The following day Haru thought about staying home. She wasn’t sick, but the emptiness stirred up in her stomach from the previous night hadn’t faded. The puffiness around her eyes was gone, and she was no longer sniffling. So, from a glance, no one could detect anything wrong with the affluent girl. Granted, not many people went out of their way to look at her to see if she was okay. They stayed away from her, and she, in turn, kept to herself unless Makoto was around.

She still pushed herself through the motion of school while trying her best to not think about what had happened with her father. It wasn’t a new occurrence, but no matter how many times it occurred, the pain didn’t become easier to tolerate. She thought her heart would numb from the despair, but with every occurrence, it stung the same.

By the time her classes had ended, the feeling started to dissipate. School was a good distraction from her home problems, but it wasn’t a cure. She was sure her tiny garden would help, it always did. Before she went up to the roof, she stopped at a vending machine to get a tea. Bottled tea would never last in a battle against her expensive imported brands, but she still enjoyed the cheap drink. After she picked it up, she started to make her way to her tiny garden. She made a stop to get and fill up the watering can she regularly used. When she reached the doors to the roof, she heard voices emanating from it.

“Okay so we’re almost ready,” spoke the voice she recognized as Akira, “I just need to make a few more preparations in the meantime. If you two need anything, in particular, remember to let me know or you’re on your own to do it.”

“Yes!” squealed a voice that she assumed belonged to the other boy, “Can’t wait to finally do this! We’ve waited long enough!”

Haru didn’t enjoy eavesdropping, but she knew they wouldn’t admit to whatever they scheming. Her curiosity took control for a bit before she decided she shouldn’t continue to listen. It made her feel bad, even though she did want to know what they were up to.  

“Excuse me,” she spoke through the door, and she waited a bit out of courtesy for the three before she would open the door. She heard them rustling something around while whispering but she couldn’t make it out. She had a feeling they were going to hide something, hopefully, it wasn’t anything dangerous. After what she thought was a reasonable time, she opened the door and saw the three in the very corner she had sat in the other day. The two she didn’t know looked rather dazed but Akira looked as collective as usual.  
  
She walked up to the tomatoes before she turned to face them, “I apologize for interrupting your conversation. I won’t take long,” and with that, she placed her school bag on top of one of the desks. She was about to start watering the plants when she noticed the mess that was scattered around a desk close to the blonde boy. She placed her watering can next to her bag and walked over to him.

“Are you the one that has been leaving garbage up here?” she asked in a calm voice.

“Uhhh,” he responded while averting his eyes from the upperclassman. He started to fidget a bit in his seat as he allowed his guilt to leak out of him.

“Ryuji,” spoke Akira to the boy, “I told you to clean up your garbage once we left.”

“Jeez Ryuji, how much of a pig are you? It isn’t hard to throw the trash out,” spoke the girl in an annoyed tone, “I bet your room is just as messy.”

“H-hey!” yelled the blonde as he waved his hand around him, “I’m not a pig! I just, umm, forget to take it with me when we leave for the day. And my room is _not_ messy thank you!”

“So, you’re a forgetful pig,” responded the girl in a teasing tone, “Still makes a pig, and I really doubt that.”

As the two bickered back and forth Haru could have sworn she heard the phantom cat meow from somewhere. She really needed to look around to make sure a cat hadn’t wandered up there and made itself a home. She didn’t want the poor thing getting hurt, or to eat her tomatoes…

“Ryuji, could you please go and throw your mess out?” spoke Akira as he pushed up his glasses, “And you can take the garbage you left here the other day. She has been letting us use the roof without any complaints, so we should show her some courtesy.”

Haru turned her head over to the desk near the door, and the trash was not only still there, but it had accumulated even more. She let out a sigh, how hard was it to throw away wrappers and plastic bottles? Then she wondered just how much the blonde could eat…

“How am I supposed to carry all this shit myself?” he mumbled angrily as he picked up the empty bottle and wrapper on the desk before he walked over to the other one. He eyed the remnants of his food from the last couple of days, then over to Akira, and then finally settled his on the girl, “Ann help a guy out and carry some of this for me.”

“Hell no, it’s your mess, you do it,” retorted the girl as she twirled her finger around her hair.

“Come on, please,” he pleaded as he nudged his head toward Haru for some odd reason, “I don’t want to walk back and forth, just help me out. Ya get what I’m getting at, right?”

The pigtailed girl turned her head over to Akira, looked at Haru for a few seconds, and then over to Ryuji. The blonde continued the same motion while wording something Haru couldn’t figure out. Ann allowed a sigh to escape her lips as she begrudgingly rose from her seat and walked over to the desk. She grabbed some of the trash and gave an annoyed look to Ryuji.

“Yeah, I get it, now cut that out. You owe me for this too,” she mumbled, “I should add this to the 500 yen bill you still owe me. Money and carrying the garbage you’re still too lazy to toss out.”

“You’re still going on about that? It’s been _years_ cut a guy some slack will ya,” spoke the rugged boy who opened the door and held it open with his foot as brought the remainder of trash into his arms. Before he left, he gave Akira a wink and spoke, “You got this buddy!”

Ann shook her head, “Way to be subtle Ryuji,” she said as she followed after the boy but she did give Akira a look with a small smirk.

Akira’s stance shifted oddly as pushed up his glasses and sighed, “Those two, jeez.”

Haru was a bit…confused at what had just transpired. She wasn’t sure what that Ryuji boy was getting at, but she did detect a small change in her companion’s demeanor. Whatever it was must have been some inside joke between them.

“You three seem close,” she spoke as she looked up at him.

“Ryuji was the first friend I made when I came here, and the Ann joined our group not long after so yeah,” he explained simply, “We may not have known each other long but it’s nice having them around. We may bicker a bit but they make good friends.”

“That must be nice,” she replied as she walked back over to the watering can, picked it up, and started to water one of the planters. She used to have a group of friends when she started high school, but like the previous friend groups she joined in the past, they faded from her life after they figured out who she really was. That, or she had to cut them off when they tried their hardest to have Haru give them the special rich girl treatment.

“You doing okay?” Akira asked her as he walked over to her, “You don’t look so good.”

She lifted her gaze from the tomatoes to her right and saw the boy standing next to her. His eyes were soft and warm, unlike the eyes of her father. He seemed honestly concerned about her. Haru rarely spoke with anyone about her home life. Unless she was able to chat with Makoto, the pain of her home life remained hidden in her heart. Even then she never divulged too much information on her friend. Some things were too hard to tell anyone, though she knew her face told more of it than her own mouth. If only her dignified mask stayed in place rather than slipping to reveal her inner turmoil.

“How obvious is it Kurusu-kun?” she asked lightly.  

“Pretty obvious, you look sad,” he replied, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I tried to tell my father about what happened yesterday,” she started to say, “He, of course, didn’t believe me without having any proof. It’s been bothering me since last night.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” replied the boy as he watched Haru, “If I told the person I’m staying with he wouldn’t believe me either. He’d probably say it was my fault or something because I’m a trouble maker. So, I understand the feeling of an adult not wanting to believe you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked as she pulled the watering can away from the one plant and started to water the next one, “You didn’t come here with your parents?”

“No, my parents are still back home. A friend of the family knows the guy I’m staying with, and he agreed to watch me during my probation period. He doesn’t exactly like me, but I think he’ll come around. He isn’t a bad person, but he lets his expectations of me affect the way he interacts with me,” explained Akira as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“What…” began Haru as she clutched the handle of the watering can tightly. She didn’t intend to change the subject but this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up, “If you don’t mind my asking, of course, did you do to end up on probation?”

“It happened when I was coming home one night. This bald drunk guy was trying to force a woman into his car. She obviously didn’t want anything to do with him, and I couldn’t just ignore her as she screamed for help,” began Akira as a saddened look crossed over his gentle face, “So I tried to intervene and help. I pulled on his shoulder to try to get him off the woman, and he stumbled backward and hurt himself. I then got railroaded and ended up with a criminal record because the police were paid off by the pervert.”  
  
Haru couldn’t help but be memorized by his heroic, yet tragic tale. She felt her face warm up as he spoke. He tried to save a woman from a sexual assault. He wanted to protect a complete stranger because it was the right thing to do, yet he was the one branded the criminal. He was the one in the right, but the scorned villainous man abused his power and punished a schoolboy for getting in his way. It reminded her of the shows she watched as a child about heroes that the law didn’t approve of but the people adored. Even when pegged as a criminal, the hero was the one doing the righteous acts. His actions from the previous day and his tragic tale shaped an image of a person who sought out justice with an obvious passion for protecting others in her mind.

“Earth to Haru, you’re going overboard with the water,” spoke Akira as he looked down and pointed at the plant. His words brought her back to reality, and she let out a little shriek as she saw what she had done to her precious tomato plant.

She jolted the watering can away from the plant and she felt her face flush from embarrassment. She bent down to examine the soil and patted it, “Oh dear, what have I done, I’m sorry tomatoes. I hope it’ll be okay.”

She heard Akira chuckle as he bent down next to her and patted the soil as well, “I think it’ll be okay, it’s a little too damp but a once in a blue moon accident won’t hurt it. Next time though be careful, okay?”

Haru looked away from the tomato plant and directly into Akira’s face. She nodded to him before she began to speak, “I’m sorry to hear that happened to you Kurusu-kun. To think all of these people think you’re a villain when you’re really the good guy…”  
  
“It sucks, and I wish I could get back at the man that threw me under the bus to save his own ass. I know I can’t so I’ll settle for helping those who I can, and I’ll make sure I don’t get arrested for it this time,” he explained as he lightened his tone at the end of his sentence.

“I’ll be rooting for you Kurusu-kun,” she said, “And promise you’ll stay out of jail.”

“Thank you and I will, one time was enough,” he replied with a small smile, “I’m sorry for changing the subject earlier, but what were you saying about your father earlier?  
  
Haru turned away from him so she could think. She didn’t feel comfortable explaining every detail of her family situation to him but decided it would be a good opportunity to get the feeling fully out of her system for the time being. He was open about his backstory, so it wouldn’t hurt if she would open up a bit to him. She felt that Akira was worthy of her trust.  
  
“My father, he isn’t how he used to be. He never listens to me when I tell him things,” she began in a light tone as she carefully chose her words, “He keeps his distance from me. We don’t interact much these days, and it hurts that he doesn’t believe the things I tell him.”  
  
Akira listened to her intently as he placed a finger over his chin and held it with his thumb. He appeared to carefully analyze her words, “It’s hard to explain the whole Kamoshida thing without proof so I could understand that. As for the other things, maybe when he has free time, try and tell him how you really feel? Say how you wish you two could spend more time together, and that by brushing aside your concerns he’s making you upset. He could be so wrapped up in his work he didn’t notice how his behavior has been affecting you?”

If she had a normal father that didn’t live and breath his work, that could be an option. She couldn’t remember the last time he actually took a break from his work. To have the courage to tell him outright she wished to spend time together, asking him to believe her more, to explain that she wasn’t always overreacting. She knew she would be too afraid to do that.

“That’s a good idea Kurusu-kun, but I don’t think I could do that,” she replied to the younger boy, “I…I don’t have the courage to stand up to him when he gets mad.” If she would insist that she was correct about something, or tell him adamantly about how badly Sugimura had treated her, he’d burst with anger. She would mention her problems, but the moment she detected any annoyance from him, she’d bow her head and scurry away.

Akira stared at her for a few moments before he spoke, “Do you two not get along?”

“We get along okay, but there are just some things I can’t change his mind on. If he’s set on a train of thought, it’s hard to convivence him otherwise, and he’d get mad otherwise.”

“I understand that feeling,” he replied, “Not right now, but in the future do you think you could build up your courage and confront him? To tell him how you really feel?”

“Maybe,” she replied lowly, “Right now though, I can’t see myself being able to confront him alone and tell him how I feel. I always hope that he’d see the error in his ways on his own and go back to how he used to be. That way, I won’t have to do it myself.”

“It’s hard to change, but if you put your mind to it, I think anyone can change,” he responded in a confident voice, “If you give it your all, maybe you will be able to show him how you truly feel. I’m here to help if you ever need it Haru.”

Haru gave him a light smile, “Thank you Kurusu-kun. In the future, could we, um, speak like this again?” She couldn’t describe the feeling, but something in her stomach told her she could rely on him. The situation she was in was peculiar compared to most people’s, but the amount of kindness he had shown her from the very start gave her a sense he could truly help her. She was always polite but had trouble openly trusting most people. Him though, he was different. She wanted to be able to trust him without any doubts.

“No problem,” he replied as he stood up, “And we can talk more in the future like this. My instinct is to help, and you’re a friend after all.” With those words, he turned his back to her and walked over to the door and opened it. As if he had a special deduction power, Haru spied his two friends standing there.

“Really guys?” he spoke, “Did you really need to eavesdrop on us?”

“Look, we didn’t want to interrupt the conversation you two were having buddy,” replied Ryuji who made sure not to look his friend in the eyes, “And we weren’t here long, I swear.”

“This was his idea Akira,” replied Ann, “I’m innocent.”

“Innocent my ass!” yelled Ryuji, “You were just as interested as I was!”

The three continued to carry on the conversation, and Haru couldn’t help but chuckle at the banter. It was nice to be around people for a change. She was so used to being by herself, she forgot how friends interacted outside of spreading rumors and foul mouthing other students. Just watching them interact was oddly comforting, though Akira’s extended kindness had helped settle the left-over sadness in her body. As the group of friends carried on their chatter, Haru watered the remainder of her tomatoes. The silly babble was entertainment to her ears, even if she wasn’t sure of everything they conversed about. By the time her plant duties came to a close, the three were still going at it.  
  
“Come on dude don’t lie,” Ryuji spoke in a cocky manner, “You enjoyed the alone time with Miss. Tomato Chick.”  
  
_“Being alone together was nice,”_ Haru thought to herself as she grabbed her bag off the table, _“I wouldn’t have been comfortable talking about father, even though it was brief, with the other two. Having someone to confide in is nice.”_

Haru made her way over to the still conversing trio, and stood near Akira, “I need to get going, but it was nice talking today, thank you again Kurusu-kun.”  
  
“Thank you Kurusu-kun, and I’ll keep that in mind,” spoke Haru before she directed her attention to the other two, “Have a good evening everyone. It was fun listening to your interactions.” With her farewell bid, she walked back inside of the school as the other two responded kindly to her.  
  
For the future, she hoped that she’d be able to share more with the friendly, and surprisingly heroic boy. It was nice, even for the brief moment, to let her feelings fall out of her mouth rather than remaining inside of her mind. She could get used to it, as long as Akira doesn’t change his tone when he’d eventually learn about her father.

When she reached the bottom of the steps, she shook her head. She couldn’t let those thoughts take the place of the ones pertaining to the mean behavior of her father. She prepared herself to drop off the watering can and then go on home when she heard vicious shriek that emanated from what had to be a cat. Meow after angry meow followed down to her ears, “Either I’m losing it, or I need to look into how to capture a stray cat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is a wrap! This took me a while to write, especially since I omitted about 1,000 words that didn’t mesh that well with the chapter. I’m not sure what to think about the chapter, but I wanted to make sure Kunikazu didn’t come off as a complete ass. Headcanon dictates he wasn’t always that way. I hope ya enjoy the chapter nonetheless.


	5. Who Are They?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank everyone who has been reading up to this point! I’m really happy with the positive feedback, and how many people have shown their interest in my idea. It has really kept me motivated to keep going after having put writing aside for so long.

4/25 Monday

“Haru, what are you doing?” asked a voice the auburn-haired girl had started to become accustomed to over the course of their last couple of run-ins.

She was crouched over near the ladder that led even further up the roof.  On the ground below her was a small bowl with cat paw pads printed over a light purple background that traveled around it. Inside was some unnotched brown, squishy substance.

“It’s for the cat,” replied Haru lightly as she pulled herself up from the ground to look at her visitor, “I put it up here this morning, but sadly the cat hasn’t stopped by to eat it.”

“A…cat?” Akira replied as he motioned his head over to his school bag for a second, “Why do you think a cat is up here? Have you seen one?”

“I keep hearing it up here, and yet I can never seem to find it. A couple of days ago I heard a cat was spotted in the courtyard. So, I figured if I put out some food, the little guy would eat it and eventually come out of hiding. Sadly, as you can see, nothing has been eaten.”

Akira, after adjusting his school bag and pushing up his glasses, made his way over to the cat bowl. He eyed it intently for a few before he raised his gaze to meet the eyes of his fluffy companion, “That’s really nice of you Haru. I’m sure if the cat is up here, he’d appreciate it.”  
  
“H-huh?” Haru replied as turned her head a bit in confusion, “Why would anyone not want to help a confused animal? For all we know, it could have an owner and it doesn’t know how to get home. I’d feel horrible if my cat disappeared and no one tried to help it…”

Akira chuckled softly as he shook his head, “Some people enjoy torturing animals rather than helping them. Out in the country, you’d be surprised at the stuff kids do to animals just to get a cheap thrill. I think it’s sweet of you, really.”

At the compliment, Haru lowered her head and nervously ran her hand through her hair, “Th-thank you Kurusu-kun.” She wasn’t used to complements that came genuinely rather than laced with poison. So many people had said nice things in the past to her, about how kind she was or how good her grades were. She could tell they never came from the heart; those words came across as forced and always at random moments where a compliment seemed out of place. They just wanted to get on her good side, after all, to get some special Okumura treatment.  Akira’s response was different, it felt genuine and natural. It was comforting in a way.

“To think though, people could do something so mean to a defenseless animal,” Haru spoke as she returned her gaze to the frizzy-haired boy.

“Some people like to be assholes,” replied Akira simply as he placed his hands into his pants pockets, “They don’t care about how someone else, human or animal, feels. As long as they enjoy it, or get something out of it, they’ll keep doing it until they are stopped.”

Haru shook her head at his words, “I wish people would be kinder. There is no excuse to hurt anything for no reason, much less something that can’t defend itself.”  
  
“I hope someday people can become gentler,” he replied with a small smile, “Do you have a name picked out if the cat is really up here?”

“A name?” Haru replied as she placed her hand under her chin to think. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She didn’t have much evidence of a cat actually being on the roof outside of what she had assumed were meows. If she would pick a name for it, it had to be something cute, or maybe have a pun or some special meaning attached to it?

“How about…Phantom?” she spoke as she smiled, “Or maybe Phan-chan?”

Akira chuckled at the name, “That’s an interesting pick. Where did it come from?”

“Well, I haven’t been able to actually find the little guy, so it’s a phantom cat for right now. I’m pretty sure I heard it meow though. Have you heard anything up here recently Kurusu-kun?”

Akira shook his head, “I haven’t seen any stray cats up here. If you do find it, I think it’d be a fitting name for it. Phantom, the mysterious and elusive cat, that only appears once charmed by the smell of delicious cat food and the generous actions of a sweet girl.”  
  
Haru pulled her hand to her slightly pink face and giggled at his words, “I really hope the food is enough to charm the little guy out of hiding if he is here. I made sure to get the best cat food I could find, and a cute bowl for it too.”

“I’m sure if there is one, he’d really like the food,” Akira replied, “I have a cat at home, and he’s really glutenous, especially when it comes to fish. If he was here, there would be no way he would pass up a free meal.”

“Aww, do you have any pictures of him?” replied Haru as she clapped her hands together lightly, “I’d love to see him.”  
  
Just as she asked the question a small ping went off. Haru recognized it as her own and pulled it out of her large sweeter pocket. She was supposed to go home early that day to attend an event with her father and her chauffeur had just sent her a message saying he had arrived. Haru would either be picked up or take the train home, depending on what she felt like that day. If her father needed her to attend a dinner party or some other social event with him, she would always be picked up.

“I’m sorry to interrupt our conversation, but I have to get going early today,” replied Haru as she slowly responded to the text message and returned it to her pocket. She then walked over to the desk that held her school bag, and the watering can she had used earlier. She picked them both up before she returned her gaze to Akira.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, could you send me a picture of your cat when you are able to? If you can’t, that’s alright as well.”

“Sure, I’ll send you a picture of him,” replied Akira as he waved his hand at her, “I don’t actually have one on my phone right now so I’ll send you one later. Have a safe trip home and a nice evening Haru.”

“Thank you!” she replied with a smile, “The same goes for you as well Kurusu-kun.” With their farewells said, Haru hurried along and returned the watering can to its home. She couldn’t keep her chauffeur and, to an extent, her father waiting. She knew the consequences of wasting his time when they had something important to attend.

* * *

 4/26 Tuesday  
  
The dinner the previous evening had extended further into the night than she had expected. It was a boring experience like all the other social events she had been forced to go through. Her father spoke to other businessmen and some politicians in fancy attire, their wives and children of varying ages at their sides. Her mother used to attend the events when she was younger, and they tended to go as a family unit. Even then she didn’t enjoy the events, but seeing the families made her think back to when life was easier.  
  
By the time they returned that night, Haru still had homework to finish. They normally returned at a decent time in case she had school work, but her father insisted that they stayed till the very end. Kunikazu explained there was a man he had to speak with, and they couldn’t go home till it was finished. Haru didn’t know what the man looked like, outside of catching a glimpse of his bald head while a boy her age shamelessly attempted to flirt with her.  
  
By the time she actually finished her work, it was around 2 in the morning. So that day she couldn’t help but yawn as she walked into the school later than she usually did. The atmosphere the moment she stepped in was different. Students were whispering about Kamoshida, and how he had stormed off down the hall fuming about something a few minutes ago. When she made it further in, she saw students had gathered around all of the bulletin boards.

“What is this all about?” Haru asked herself when her eyes landed on a bunch of red cards plastered on the boards. Out of curiosity, she squeezed herself through the small crowd and pulled down one of the red cards.

It had a rudimentarily design as if someone sketched the image in a hurry and then repeated the process over and over for the other cards. Haru opened up the red card with a crude drawing of a hat and a mask and looked at the continents inside of it. It was designed as though a newspaper had been clipped to form the entirety of the message.

“Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can’t fight back. That’s why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” read Haru in a low tone.  
  
The first thing she noted was the wording, which seemed to flow outside of the use of shitty. It just didn’t mesh with it properly. The second thing she pondered was, who were these Phantom Thieves of Hearts? What did it mean by steal his heart? Haru was sure that Mr. Kamoshida had abused the volleyball team members, and he would do his best to get the three boys expelled. How though, could anyone take his corrupted desire of abusing his power?  
  
_“What is this supposed to all mean?”_ Haru thought to herself as she placed the calling card into her school bag. She then pulled out her phone and messaged Makoto to see if she knew anything that was going on. Once the message was sent, she made her way to her class.

Haru, much unlike her normal self, was unable to concentrate on her classes that morning. From small yawns to dozing off, along with quandaries about the mysterious card, her brain was not meant to absorb the lectures that morning. Over and over she wondered. Where these so-called phantoms real? Was it a joke? Could they _truly_ change a corrupted heart?

_“If they are real, could they stop Akira from getting expelled?”_ Haru thought. If they could stop Mr. Kamoshida, by whatever means, did it mean he would be safe? She couldn’t fathom how they could possibly do it, or if that card could even be taken seriously. Deep down though, despite it sounding utterly preposterous, she hoped they could save him…  
  
_“Unless, could he be?”_ Haru thought for a moment as her lunch break began. Her phone immediately dinged, and she pulled it out to see she had received a message from Makoto.  
  
_It looks like a prank. We only talked about it briefly earlier and are going to look into it more now. I think a student just wanted to mess with Mr. Kamoshida considering everything that has been circulating around about him. I’ll let you know once we find out more._

Haru replied simply. _Okay, thank you Mako-chan. Do your best.  
  
__Thanks. Haru, if I have time we could talk more about this tomorrow during lunch._ Read the message she received after only a few seconds.

_I’d like that very much!_ Answered Haru. She rarely had lunch with her friend, so any chance to talk sounded nice to her. She honestly wanted to ask her more often but didn’t want to be a burden and interrupt her if she was busy.

Before Haru put it away, she went over to her messages with Akira. He had messaged her a few days ago about an article on how to improve one’s care for crops. They had discussed it for a bit before they said their goodnights. He hadn’t messaged her a picture of his cat yet either which disappointed her. She decided that she would ask him about the situation.

_What do you think about all of this Phantom Thieves talk?_

After that, she returned her phone to her sweater pocket. As she went to get her drink, she saw members of the student council and a teacher were removing the cards from all the bulletin boards. They didn’t appear pleased with their assignment. It wasn’t surprising, they were losing a lunch break over a prank. As she continued to walk through the hall, she couldn’t help but hear students converse about the cards.  
  
“What did Mr. Kamoshida do to be targeted by these so-called thieves?” asked one student, “He never came off as a bad guy.”

“No clue, he seems really cool to me so I can’t see how he’s guilty of anything,” replied their friend, “Probably some prank to get back at him for something dumb.”

The other conversations she happened to hear followed a similar pattern. The students didn’t seem to believe he was capable of any wrongdoing. Haru wasn’t surprised that they thought such things, especially after she saw students ignore his verbal assault on Akira the other day. Either they purposely covered their eyes to his actions, or they honestly knew nothing.  

After lunch concluded, she tried to pay attention during the remainder of her classes. While she was able to concentrate more after she ate, she couldn’t stop thinking about the calling card. Her mind turned and turned as she pondered how the mysterious people, whoever they were, could change someone’s heart. If those people could change the corrupted, that made them the good guys if they really existed, right?

By the time classes had ended for the day, Haru pulled her phone out to check if she had received any more messages. She, of course, had received none. She didn’t expect another from Makoto, but she wished Akira would have said something. After she made another trip to buy a coffee, a new found favorite of hers, she began to make her way slowly to the roof. She wanted to listen to the rumors a bit, to see if any of the students said anything about hoping that the coach would get what he deserved. They, unsurprisingly, only had positive things to say about the man.

_“I wonder if they speak fondly of him out of fear,”_ thought the fluffy girl to herself, _“Or if they want to only see his abilities at volleyball, and not the bad things about his personality.”_

After she grabbed the watering can, Haru reached the roof and proceeded to water her tomatoes. She spent her time checking the soil, examining the leaves, and doing her best to make sure the plants were healthy. She occasionally turned her head to the door, pondering if Akira would even show up that day. She knew he didn’t show up every day, but she had hoped he would make his entrance. She wanted to talk about the card with him.   
  
After about an hour had passed, Haru determined he wasn’t going to show up. She had pulled a folding chair from the corner and placed it near the railing so she could look out to the campus below. Besides looking at the land or the sky, her mind had pondered on and on about the day events some more. She then pulled out her phone to once more check her messages.

“Still nothing,” Haru mumbled to herself as she stared at the screen, “This is a coincidence, right?”

She had no proof the mysterious thieves existed, or if they weren’t just an elaborate joke. Even so, she couldn’t help but think that Akira and his friends could somehow be involved. They had been planning something and were determined to find out information about the man. They were resolute to stop him and help out the abused kids. That she knew as a fact from her occasional eavesdropping. So about two weeks later since there planning had begun, this happened.

“I’m overthinking things,” she spoke as she returned her phone to her sweater pocket, “I’m being silly, there is no way you steal someone’s heart, no matter how much you wanted it to happen. I spent all day thinking about something silly. It’s probably from the lack of sleep.”

After lightly slapping her cheeks, Haru stood up from her seat and returned it to its previous spot. Akira and his friends wanted to stop the man with proof, with the statements from his victims. They weren’t phantom thieves; they were ordinary high school students. It had to be a coincidence. Makoto told her it was a prank, and that was all it could be. For all, she knew it was a way for a victim to cry out for help, to get eyes on the coach.  

Haru decided it was time for her to head home. She needed to catch up on her sleep and empty her thoughts about the calling card. Everything would be sorted out eventually, and her overthinking wouldn’t be a part of the operation to solve it. She turned her head over to the ladder and recalled she hadn’t checked if the supposed cat had eaten anything. She walked over and saw the bowl was empty, not a single piece of the cat food was left over.

“So, there is a kitty around here,” Haru smiled to herself as she bent down and picked up the bowl, “Phan-chan must have been really hungry.”

She placed the bowl inside her bag. She wanted to have it cleaned for the next time she left food out for the cat. First Phantom the cat, and then the Phantom Thieves. At least she knew the cat was real and wasn’t pulling a prank.

* * *

4/27 Wednesday  
  
“Is it true Mako-chan?” asked Haru, “Did he really put himself under suspension?”  
  
The two third-years were in the student council room, eating their lunches as they discussed the new rumor that began to circulate around. Haru had heard students that afternoon saying they had heard a teacher mention that Mr. Kamoshida took the day off to evaluate himself. After the appearance of what seemed like an elaborate prank to inform the school of his supposed crimes, it couldn’t be some mere coincidence. It lined up too well.

“I haven’t spoken with the principal today,” spoke Makoto after she took a bite out of her sandwich, “So I can’t really say. If it came from a teacher, it could be true. I may be the student council president, but there are still things I’m not informed of.”

“That’s true,” Haru replied. Makoto would do a lot of things for their squishy looking principle, but he wasn’t required to inform her of everything. It would make sense that if something had happened with the coach, they would want to keep it hidden from all the students. Schools, like any business out there, would want to keep their ordeals under wrap to not gain attention from the media. They needed to look their best after all, especially when it involved a pivotal image of Shujin.    
  
“So, for now, all we can do is assume something has happened with Mr. Kamoshida to cause him to reevaluate himself,” replied Makoto firmly, “And we wait till we get an answer.”  
  
“What about those calling cards from yesterday?” asked Haru after taking a sip of her tea, “It’s too much of a coincidence that the very next day he doesn’t show up. Could it really have been some sort of prank?”

Haru had attempted to push aside the thoughts about the Phantom Thieves, but they came back the moment she heard the latest batch of rumors. If the thieves really existed, had they been able to actually change the man, which resulted in his supposed self-suspension? It would explain why he was absent, but how they would accomplish their mission was a mystery.

“I…I don’t know honestly. It does seem odd, that the following day he wants to look over his own behavior. For now, all we can do is wait and see what happens,” replied Makoto.

“Do you have any idea who put the cards up Mako-chan?” If she had at least a tiny detail about the person, she could attempt to compare it to Akira’s friend group. That way, she’d be able to kick out the thoughts from her subconscious. She didn’t want to think they were involved in something so odd. Yet, she couldn’t look over the obvious connections between the three and the teacher.  
  
“I’m not positive about this, but after class yesterday I asked some students about what they saw or heard. They said an adult, possibly a parent, with brown hair was spotted near the bulletin boards around the time a teacher had noticed them early that morning,” explained Makoto.

An adult? Brown hair? That didn’t match the description of the group, much to her relief.  As she thought about it, the more plausible it could be. A parent had their child confess to them about the abuse, and they went to the school about it. They did nothing, and the angry parent wanted to get back at them for ignoring it. A parent could get in if they had an appointment, or if it was early enough, they could have snuck into the school and set up the cards without being noticed. That way, they could draw attention to the situation in hopes of something being done.

“Is there any possibility the cards were put up during the night?” asked Haru.

“I don’t think the security is extremely high, so that could be possible. If the parent turns out to be a false flag, and no other leads come up about a student, I’d think during the night would be the next logical possibility,” replied Makoto as she stretched in her seat.

“If it had occurred at night, it could have been anyone,” spoke Haru as she tilted her head, “Student, angry parent, a complete stranger out for justice…”  A phantom thief was the next thing she wanted to say, but she held the word back in her mind.  
  
After thinking about the situation more, Haru decided she’d go with the angry parent theory she had made in her head. There was currently no proof someone had snuck in at night, and a mysterious adult was seen near the cards. By believing that, she could let go of the suspicion of her friend which she desired.

The two carried on their amateur detective work until a familiar noise resonated throughout the school to inform them to get ready to return to their classrooms. As such, the two girls cleaned up the remainder of their lunches and proceeded to make their way to the first floor. As they chatted along the way, the two decided to change the subject to something fun.

“Mako-chan, would you like to do something fun together soon?” asked Haru as they reached the third-years floor, “It’s been a long time since we’ve done anything together.”

“Hmm,” hummed Makoto as she was caught up in her thoughts, “When I have some free time, I’ll let you know, is that okay?”  
  
Haru gave a slight nod of her head. She couldn’t remember the last time she was able to go out with a friend and wanted to at least try to make a plan with Makoto. With that agreed on, the two separated to go to their designated classrooms.

The afternoon classes were the same as ever for the fluffy haired girl. Before she knew it, the time had passed and she was free to go to her rooftop garden. The murmurs in the hallways were different that day, not to her surprise. She overheard some girl chatting about how sad it was that they weren’t able to see their idolized coach. Haru couldn’t understand them, much less after she saw herself an extent of his malice.

“I heard the volleyball team is going to be suspended for the time being,” she heard a male student say when she reached the third floor.

“How long are they expecting Mr. Kamoshida to take off? Makes you think if that calling card had some meaning to it if the very next day he’s not here.”  
  
Haru smiled slightly after she heard those words, maybe now people would start to think and connect some dots as she had. As she proceeded toward the home of her watering can, she had hoped that she’d be able to speak with Akira and his friends to see how they were.

Unfortunately for Haru, none of them had appeared. After she had finished her gardening duties for the day and checked on the still full cat bowl she filled that morning, she pulled out her phone to see if she had received any new messages. She hadn’t gotten any, which caused a small frown to form on her face.  
  
Them not appearing didn’t mean anything bad, and she knew that. They came up to the roof when they wanted to chat or to plan something. If they didn’t appear, it meant they weren’t doing anything together. It was simple logic. It did seem odd that they halted their gatherings right after the calling cards appeared, but it could just a coincidence. If she thought about it the other way around, them not appearing meant they hadn’t planned anything against Mr. Kamoshida on that very day…  
  
“Stop it Haru,” she mumbled to herself as she shook her head, “Speculating won’t get you anywhere.”

She wanted to believe that they had nothing to do with whatever was going on. She wanted to actually believe that they were trying to stop the man, just in a way that made more sense than stealing a metaphorical heart. She believed she could trust Akira, and she knew shouldn’t let her skepticism and trust issues get in her way. Even with some insider information, she couldn’t stop the doubt.  
  
With a sigh, Haru packed up her belongings and decided she needed to go home. Maybe she needed some more sleep. She spent too much timing thinking about the situation and her brain was in overdrive. She’d find out what was happening with Mr. Kamoshida eventually. Obsessing over it wouldn’t do her any good. She needed to have faith in the friend group, and not shamelessly grasp at straws.

After she texted her chauffeur that she needed to be picked up, she went to Akira’s information again. She decided to message him again, even though she didn’t want to come off as a nuisance.

_Sorry to bother you, but are you doing okay?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed the chapter~ The first two parts came to me easily but something about the last part gave me some trouble. I hope it faired well with the other two bits.


	6. Rainy Rooftop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I had some family stuff come up that I was busy with. Plus, I had some issues with starting this chapter off which didn’t help.

4/28 Thursday  
  
The rain was falling heavily that afternoon, and Haru could have sworn she saw some lightning off in the distance as she stood under the awning of the school’s rooftop. She was leaning her back against the wall, her school bag resting near her feet, as she watched the rainfall. She could have remained inside of the school, but the chilled air felt nice.

It had been raining on and off since about 10 that morning, and she had hoped she’d have been able to check her on plants. Unfortunately for her, the rain didn’t seem interested in giving her a momentary break, and she didn’t have an umbrella. She’d normally have one after seeing the weather forecast, but that day it had completely blanked from her mind. 

“Silly me,” mumbled Haru as she watched the rain, “If it doesn’t let up soon, I’ll just go home.”  
  
When it would rain, her gardening duties were cut short. The falling rain would be a blessing for anyone that had a huge field of crops to take care of, but for her, it ruined the fun. The rooftop was her little sanctuary, and it gave her solace her own home couldn’t provide. She also wanted to check the soil as she normally would, to make sure they were doing well and what not. She couldn’t check on her plants all the time, but she wanted to do her best to give them as much love and attention as she could.

As she continued to listen to the rain pitter patter against the roof, she pulled out her phone. No new messages. She had chatted with Makoto about plans on going to see a movie or something, but that was from the previous night. She had hoped she would have received something from Akira, but alas the younger boy had ignored her.  
  
“Nothing I can do about that either,” she mumbled as she returned her phone to her sweater pocket. She had tried to shake the thoughts of a possible connection between the trio and the Phantom Thieves but the longer she had to wait for a response the more her brain churned the idea. If she had some more proof then maybe…

Haru heard the door to the roof open with a loud creak, which snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned her head to see who it was, and lo and behold, it was the very boy she had her mind set on. He had his usual soft expression, but a small cut had appeared on his left cheek since she last saw him.  
  
“Hey,” he spoke as he inched to her side and pressed his back against the wall, “You even come up here when it rains?”

She nodded her head lightly before she decided to speak, “I usually don’t do much outside of checking up on them. I don’t have an umbrella with me today so I’ve been waiting for the rain to let up so I could look at them. Why are you here Kurusu-kun?”

“I wanted to see if you were up here,” responded Akira as he pushed his glasses up, “Nothing stops you from coming up here, huh?”  
  
“I like being up here not just because my crops are here,” responded Haru simply as she folded her hands in front of her, “I like looking out at the scenery, and the breeze up here is nice as well. It’s comforting in its own way.”

“I get what you mean, I like it here too,” he replied before he allowed a small hum to escape his lips. Akira turned his back to her as he gently placed his school bag to the covered ground. Haru stared at his back as he ruffled through his bag. After a few moments, he pulled out a decent sized, standard umbrella. It was black and lacked an interesting design; it was rather boring compared to the fancy ones she had at home.  
  
“Would you like some help with your tomato checkup?” he asked as he returned to his spot. He was lightly waving his umbrella up and down in his right hand.

“H-huh?” replied the girl, caught off guard by his comment.

“I’ll hold the umbrella and you can check on the tomatoes? I’m sure it’d be easier with me holding the umbrella instead of you having to do both.”

Haru waved her hands in front of her as she spoke, “You don’t have to do that Kurusu-kun! Besides, you could get wet if you do that! I’m sure they’ll be okay if I don’t check on them.”  
  
Akira shook his head as his frizzy curls bounced around, “It’s okay, I like helping, remember? Also, what type of country boy would abandon some crops in need?”

Haru turned her gaze away from Akira and looked out to the roof. The rain didn’t seem like it would stop any time soon. She didn’t want him to get wet simply over some plants, but Haru did appreciate the kind gesture. She could quickly check on them…

As she continued to think she heard the sound of the umbrella open. Haru returned her gaze to Akira, who had a little smirk. He held the umbrella above them and spoke in a somewhat playful tone, “What do you say, shall we give them a checkup?”

Haru knew instantly she wouldn’t win the battle against him, that smirk had far too much confidence to fight, “Alright, you win Kurusu-kun. If you start to get wet tell me, okay?”

“Will do,” he responded as began to move his feet forward as he inched closer to her. Haru followed his motion as she listened to the rain pattering against the umbrella. She was a tiny bit embarrassed to be sharing an umbrella with the younger boy, especially considering the close proximity. She knew it was silly, but she couldn’t rid the feeling from her stomach.  
  
It only took them a few steps to reach the tomatoes, and Haru bent down to inspect her friends. Akira shifted his position when she bent down, and she could tell he was trying his best to keep the rain off of her. Every time she moved; he followed her movements. As she tended to the crops, she couldn’t help but shift her gaze up at him just a bit. He looked like he was enjoying his job thanks to the small smile. She couldn’t help but think rain suited him, but maybe she was thinking too much about his hair.  

The tomatoes had gained a solid amount of water from the storm, but thankfully she didn’t find anything out of place. None of the tiny leaves had drooped, and to her knowledge, they seemed healthy. As she shifted from planter to planter, they all seemed to have fared well considering the current weather forecast.

“Everything looking okay with them?” asked Akira who had been observing her movements as he shielded her from the rain, “Or do you need my help with them?”

“It’s okay Kurusu-kun, they’re doing good,” replied the girl as she raised herself up from the ground after she had quickly finished her objective, “Hopefully come tomorrow everything will be the same. Now, let’s head back to the awning.”  
  
With a nod from her underclassman, they quickly returned to the awning for protection. Haru returned to her spot as Akira waved the water off of his umbrella before he closed it and placed it down next to his school bag. He followed suite and returned his back to the wall.

“Thank you for the help Kurusu-kun,” spoke Haru as she turned to look at the boy, “You didn’t need to do that, but I appreciate it a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” replied Akira with a small smile as he removed his glasses and wiped them off with his blazer.

As he cleaned them off Haru noticed something on the shoulder of his blazer. She inched closer and patted his shoulder, and felt it was rather damp. A small pout seeped across her face and she spoke, “Kurusu-kun, you should have told me you were getting wet. You should have moved the umbrella over some more to keep yourself dry.”  
  
The black-haired boy returned his glasses to their rightful spot before he looked down at his upperclassman and spoke in a calm manner, “I didn’t even notice. I don’t think it’s that wet.”

The pout didn’t fade from her face, and instead was replaced by a far more noticeable one, “You should be more careful, I understand it’s just some water, but still. You didn’t need to do that for me…”  
  
“I’ll be okay,” he replied in a light tone, “I just wanted to help, so a little water isn’t a big deal. I don’t think I’m a witch, so I’m not going to melt.”

She returned her back to the wall and stared at him. It was odd having someone that wanted to help her out just because they wanted to. It took her a while to adjust to Makoto’s kindness, but the situation with Akira was different. The two became companions due to being classmates for two years, and they were in a similar situation of a lack of friends. Makoto was considered too stern and rule-abiding for most students, and Haru kept to herself the majority of the time. It was just luck they were paired up on a school trip and found they got along rather well.

Akira was just someone she happened to run into by pure chance. He was being treated like a monster over a situation where he did the right thing. She showed him kindness, and he gladly accepted it and wanted to return it. He didn’t want a connection to her father, or some special treatment…

“What is it?” he asked as he played with a strand of frizzy hair, “You’ve been staring at me for a while.”

“Um, well, I,” she stuttered, not realizing she had been swept up in her thoughts once more. She quickly tried to find an excuse when she was finally able to stammer out, “Your phone! I sent you a couple of messages, did you not get them?”  
  
Akira lowered his head as he pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. He slid his finger across the lock screen on his device before he tapped on something. He then moved his finger down the screen before he tapped on something else and let out a small, “Crap.”

He turned his gaze over to her and said, “I thought I replied but I didn’t,” before he held out the phone in front of her. She saw her last to messages to him, and underneath it was a response that read, “Sorry, I was busy helping out the guy I’ve been living with. I’m doing okay, and you?”

“I remember typing that before bed, but I think my cat started meowing at me and I got distracted,” he replied before he pulled his phone back towards him.

Haru let out a little giggle, so he hadn’t been ignoring her, “Your kitty sounds like the type that demands a lot of attention from you.”  
  
“He’s a very needy fellow, he loves to meow and ask for fish and tells me to go to sleep,” mumbled Akira as he was scrolling through his phone.

“He tells you to sleep?” she replied in a confused tone, “How does he do that?”

Akira turned to Haru and held up his phone again. On the screen was a picture of a black cat curled up on a bed in a dusty looking room, with what looked like a workbench and a couch behind him. As she stared at the picture, she was able to see that the cat had a bit of white on his tail.

“He curls up on my bed and meows at me to join him there,” explained Akira before he pulled his phone away and placed it in his pocket, “It’s like he’s set on a timer and if I don’t sleep when he wants me to, he gets mad.”

“That’s really cute,” replied Haru in a cheerful voice, “Does he wake you up in the morning too?”

“Nope, he thankfully lets me sleep in on days off,” explained Akira with a little chuckle, “Sometimes I want to pick him up and wake him up as an act of revenge.”

“That’d be mean Kurusu-kun, he’s just a cat,” Haru replied, “He’s probably used to your schedule and expects you to go to bed at the same time.”  
  
“It feels more like he made the schedule for me,” he replied with a chuckle as he started to play with another strand of his frizzy hair.

Haru replied with a small laugh to his statement. The conversation helped soothe her a bit. He hadn’t ignored her, but was busy with home stuff and made a mistake because of his cat. That didn’t come off as an excuse, and his words seemed genuine. Anyone was capable of making such a simple mistake. Even so, she couldn’t shake the one question that lingered in her mind.

“Kurusu-kun?” she began as she stared at him intently, “What do you think about these so-called Phantom Thieves?” She needed to ask him and to see if her doubts had any ground. Some dots connected to him, but she couldn’t settle on just an assumption. She just wanted to see how he would respond, and if anything, he said came off as suspicious. She didn’t want to keep thinking the same things over and over.  
  
“They must have scared Kamoshida if he put himself on suspension,” he spoke calmly as he placed both of his hands into his pockets, “I don’t know what they meant by steal his heart but if it means my ass is saved, I’m glad. I was having trouble getting any students to open up with them being afraid of me and what not. I was unable to get any statements, so whoever these thieves are, they did all the hard work for me.”  
  
Haru turned her head away from the sky and at Akira, who looked as calm as he sounded. His tone, body posture, it all seemed normal to her. He hadn’t been looking at the ground nervously, nor did he make any jittery movements. If she got caught as some phantom thief, she wouldn’t be able to lie her way out of the situation. She’d just make things worse by trying to pretend she wasn’t. Akira came off as cool, level headed, and completely composed.

That could mean two things. He was extremely good at staying calm and lying, or he was speaking truthfully. Makoto still had yet to gather up any new information, so the theory that an angry parent or some other adult had snuck in was still possible. Outside of Akira and his friends being out for the creepy teacher, there was no physical evidence to connect them.  
  
What do you think about them Haru?” asked Akira, “Do you think they’re real?”

“I don’t know yet,” she replied lightly, “We have no evidence of anything outside of those cards. I thought it was some prank but with Mr. Kamoshida taking off, I can’t ignore the obvious connection. If they’re real, I hope they can bring forth justice that no one else could have been able to, and so you can your friends don’t get expelled.”

“I like that response. They can do something I can’t,” replied Akira as he removed himself from the wall and bent over to pick up his school bag, “It looks like it’s going to finally stop raining.”  
  
Haru turned her gaze upward and the rain had finally started to calm down. While it wasn’t fully finished with its assault on the land underneath it, it appeared to finally be slowing down. She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out her phone, it seemed like they had been chatting for nearly an hour.

“I think we should start heading home,” spoke Akira as he began to walk toward the door, “Would you like to walk to the train station together? If it starts raining again, we could stop and get you an umbrella.”

With a small nod of her head, Haru picked up her school bag and walked up to the boy’s side. As long as the weather held off, taking the train was an option. She’d prefer him not to see the limousine that was her standard means of transportation. She wanted to hide that part of herself of for as long as she could.

Akira walked ahead and held the door open for her like he had done the previous day. She thanked him as she did then and determined that she would put her faith in him. Until she learned more about the mysterious Phantom Thieves of Hearts, she was going to believe that Akira and his friends had nothing to do with them. That at the end of the day, it was a coincidence. They had the same objective, but one group was that of normal teenagers and the other was a mystery to the world.

* * *

By the time Haru arrived home, the rain was back to attacking the land without any hesitation. She decided to pass on buying the umbrella when they stopped at a convivence store in the underground mall. She knew she would never use it again if she had purchased it. Her father would likely tell her to toss it away because it wasn’t fitting of the Okumura name.

To her surprise, she found her father sitting in the spacious and modern styled living room. When she approached him, she saw that he was fast asleep. Kunikazu had a thick business book sprawled open in his lap while his hands were resting at his side. On the arm of the chair was his smartphone and a flower themed bookmark she had given him. Haru allowed a small giggle to pass her lips, it had been a while since she had stumbled upon him napping there. The black leather chair was his favorite spot outside of his office and collection room. Whenever he had free time, he enjoyed reading or simply relaxing while drinking coffee.

Haru gently picked up the book from his lap, placed the bookmarker inside, and placed it onto the large coffee table next to his unfinished drink. It was similar to the one in his office, with a small vase of pansy’s she had grown. She then walked over to the matching leather couch and picked up a thin gray blanket. She returned to her father and draped it over his figure.  
  
After that, she picked up the cold mug of coffee and dropped it off in their kitchen. It was a large, chic one with all the latest, and of course, expensive equipment. She rarely used it herself, thanks to the hired hands that took care of most of their cooking. Outside of making herself something to drink during the evening after the final staff members left, it didn’t see much use. She wanted to try baking some time in the future though.

She then went to her room for a few to drop off her school bag and took out her gardening book. When she came back, she went to the kitchen and decided to make herself some tea. A staff member offered to make it for her, but kindly declined and did it herself. While it was nice to have the help, she enjoyed brewing her own drink. After the tea was finished, she brought it into the living room and quietly read her book.  
  
She read and slowly enjoyed her tea for around half-an-hour before she heard a ping go off. She pulled her phone out of her sweater, but she hadn’t received any. She turned her head over to where her father was, and another ping went off. The auburn-haired girl watched her father’s sleeping form, but the pings didn’t wake him.

 _“That could be important,”_ Haru thought to herself as she placed her book on the table next to her tea. She got up and walked to her father, but instead of waking him she picked up his phone. She didn’t want to wake him up unless it seemed important, so pushed the home button.

 _We’re having a meeting next week; I advise you to attend if you’re really interested in our proposition after our last few meetings. Call me immediately unless you want your slot taken by someone else._ That was the second message on his phone. It came from someone named Shido, a name she hadn’t recognize. She had met a variety of Kunikazu’s work associates, but she could only remember so many names before they all started to mesh together.

She placed the phone back on the arm of the chair before she shook his shoulder, “Father, you need to wake up now. It’s important.”

It took a few for Kunikazu to fully wake from his deep slumber. He seemed dazed for a moment; his eyes glassy before asking, “What is it Haru?”

“Your phone was going off a bit,” she explained as she backed up slightly, “I think it could be important.”  
  
Kunikazu reached over to his phone, and nearly bolted up from his chair. He shot his head to his daughter and exclaimed, “Thank you for waking me Haru, this is extremely important. As expected from an Okumura daughter, you placed my work before my rest.”

He tended to say that anytime she did something he expected of her. It was basically his catchphrase. He seemed more interested in what he expected from her as an Okumura rather than herself as an individual.  
  
He shoved the blanket away before he shuffled away from her, likely to his office to speak with whoever that Shido person was. She returned to her spot on the couch and continued reading her book until about ten minutes passed and she heard a ping go off. That time she was sure it was her own phone. She removed it from her sweater and saw it was from Akira.

The message contained a picture of the same cat he had shown her earlier. That time it was of the kitty inside of his schoolbag, seemingly asleep or he just wanted to keep his eyes closed. The background matched with the previous one, with a dusty room but that time there was a table in the picture next to the same couch.

 _He loves my school bag, at least someone does._ The message read. Haru couldn’t help but giggle, it was really cute. It’d be nice to have a pet, so she’d have some company rather being almost always alone. Maybe she could convivence her father into getting a cat.

_That’s really cute Kurusu-kun. Does he nap in there a lot?_

_Nah, he prefers to sleep in bed with me. Sometimes it feels like I’m a pillow for him._  
  
She couldn’t help but giggle again, she could see the cat curling up on his head. It was rather curly and disheveled, like a cat that got caught in the rain. Perhaps that’s why the rain seemed fitting with him. It could make a perfect cushion for a playful feline, but the kitty probably made anywhere on Akira his pillow.

“What are you looking at Haru?” asked a voice she instantly recognized as her father. She jolted a bit and turned her head to face him while turning her phone screen off. Kunikazu was standing directly behind him, his phone in his hand.  
  
“Just a picture a friend sent me father,” she replied lightly, “It was of his cat. He’s a cute little guy.”

She noticed him raise an eyebrow before he continued, “Alright, but make sure the people you’re interacting with aren’t the troublesome type. I don’t approve of you being friends with anyone that can drag you into trouble. You must live up to the Okumura name.”

Haru lowered her head and replied in a low tone, “I know Father.”

“Good,” he replied as he walked from behind the couch and to the coffee table. He picked up the blanket from earlier and returned it to its original spot. He then picked up his book before settling his eyes on Haru again, “I’m going to a meeting next week with some business associates. There is a buffet in the building, and I was thinking we could have lunch before it starts. Does that sound good to you?”

Haru raised her head upward and looked at him with a small smile, “That sounds nice.”

“Alright, when I’m about to head up you can call the chauffeur and head home,” spoke Kunikazu, “I have business to take care of, so have a good night Haru. Make sure you’re keeping up on your studies.”

“I am, no need to worry Father. Have a good night,” replied the girl as she watched her father leave the living room. Once he was out of her sight, she allowed a sigh to escape her lips. Having lunch with just her father was a rarity since the majority of the time they were surrounded by businessmen. If they were home it was just as much of a rarity. Hopefully, they’d be able to talk about something fun for once. It’d be fun if they could talk about a movie but it had been so long since they last watched one together.

Haru then pulled her phone back up to her face and replied to the message from before, _Does he do any other silly things?_

While she did have school work to take care of, it wouldn’t hurt if she chatted with Akira a bit more. She reached out to her semi-warm tea to take a sip when another ping came from her phone. It was really nice to have another friend to talk to. She was loner not because she hated people, but out of necessity from too many betrayals.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap, I hope ya enjoyed. I can’t help but think of Morgana off screen and all the things he’s probably annoyed about from Akira. It’d be fun to write. Until next time~


	7. Disgust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I apologize for the delay. I would normally say I hope you enjoy, but Haru isn’t going to enjoy this so…I’m so sorry in advance.

4/30 Saturday

Haru had a good day at school. She was able to have lunch with Makoto and chatted with Akira after school. Much like the past two days, the pair walked to the station and chatted about what crops Haru was interested in growing. Having interaction with both of her friends was an odd experience, but it left an extremely warm, comforting feeling in her belly. It’d be nice if she could talk to them more often in the same day. 

Unfortunately, her day was ruined the moment that man made an appearance that evening. He was dressed up in his usual white business suit, his hair styled finely, and the same cold glare emanated from his eyes. If Haru was given the opportunity to erase any one human from her life, it’d be Sugimura without a doubt. She wasn’t normally the type to hate people, but she made an exception for him. 

He didn’t have any particular business to attend to with her or Kunikazu. He just felt the need to come to her home and chat up the two. He would randomly pop in when he felt like it, and he always, always brought her a ‘gift’ as if he was actually trying to court her. She knew there were no emotions behind the item, it was just an excuse to make him look better than he truly was. It was an unnecessary trick, Kunikazu had shown no interest in ridding the older man from their lives. No matter what things she told her father about him, he didn’t believe her. 

The item was a bouquet of roses, with a vibrant shade of red. She accepted the flowers, it wasn’t like she couldn’t, nor could she take out her frustrations on the innocent plants. Haru thought of it as an adoption, she was taking the flowers away from the disinterested and unloving man. After she had handed the flowers over to a maid, they were placed caringly into a vase.

The two businessmen made small talk over stocks and how Sugimura’s father was doing. His father was both a businessman and a politician, something that Kunikazu seemed to be aspiring toward in recent years. Haru wasn’t interested in their conversation, and she honestly couldn’t keep up with some of the things they discussed. Granted, it wasn’t like they would ever include her in the conversation. After all, it was ‘men’s talk’ and a woman had no need to involve herself in such things. 

“It’s not like I even want to be here,” thought Haru as she dropped her gaze from the two talking. She was originally positioned on the couch and was close to her father who was situated in his chair. When her fiancé asked to sit down, he told her in a rough voice to move down so he could be closer to Kunikazu. She didn’t oblige because she wanted to show him any kindness, but it was an excuse to inch herself as far down the couch as she could. Haru wanted to stay as far away from him as humanly possible. 

The two talked and talked for nearly an hour, and it felt like she’d rather be in class than with them. At least there she didn’t have to worry about being harassed by him. Sugimura had only been in her life for around two months at that point, but he always made her uncomfortable.

Then came the moment she dreaded but knew was going to come. Her father, much to her dismay, always decided to retreat to his study so the two could have some ‘bonding’ time. She could never forge a bond with him, and the feeling seemed extremely mutual. He only saw her as some object he’d add to his shelf of accomplishments after marriage. A shiny trophy that would provide him with even more money. Money was the main goal, and her body was merely a consolation prize.

Once her father was gone from their sight, the atrocious man inched himself down the couch toward her. She instinctively flinched and dropped her gaze to the floor, silently praying he would just disappear. She knew it was impossible but god did she want him to just go away and never come back. Haru never thought she was capable of hating someone so much until she had to deal with him. 

He raised his hand to her hair and started to play with it, “You don’t have to be so afraid of me. I don’t bite…unless I’m asked to. Even then, I don’t think I’m that rough.”

She felt disgust swell in her stomach, and her instincts were telling her to run away from him. To go to her room, lock the door, and hide until he was finally gone from her home. Another thought was to grab the axe in the shed in their yard her father used for firewood. She could force him to his knees and beg her for forgiveness for his atrocious behavior and words. Haru could even crack it into his skull so everything inside could ease out in a crimson stream over his horrified and agony drench face…

She would have shaken her head to get the thought out of her mind had he not been holding onto her hair. She needed to cut back on the horror genre, it was really messing with her thought process. She had gruesome thoughts on occasion, but Sugimura really amped up that dark thought process as of late. Haru hated the man but she wasn’t a killer. She got sad over a flower dying, no way could she kill another human. She was harmless! 

“What is it Haru?” asked the man in a sultry tone, “We’re going to be married, so I’d like to believe I’d make a nice plaything. I could make you feel so many new things after all. I know it may seem too soon considering the situation, but you’ll ease into it.”

She silently prayed for someone, anyone, to come in and take her away from the hell hole that engulfed her living room. A dashing prince, a knight in splendid armor, an adorable talking mascot character, anyone would do if it meant she’d get away from him. She could put up with her father’s cruelty, but Sugimura was on a completely different level. Kunikazu could be extremely harsh at times, but at least he never touched her or said repulsive things…

“I…I don’t feel comfortable with such things Sugimura-san, I’m sorry…” she replied in a low, quivering voice as she clenched at her skirt. She didn’t dare to raise her head to look him in the eyes; she couldn’t stand his lustful, aggravated glare he had when the two were alone. 

An annoyed “tch” seeped out from his throat as he pulled away from her hair. He then forcefully grabbed her shoulder and harshly shoved her into the couch. The action caused Haru to jolt her head upward, and with his other hand, he gripped her chin antagonistically. His eyes had the glare just like she expected. 

“Listen here, you’re going to have to get accustomed to this sooner rather than later,” he grumbled in a low, provoked voice, “We are to be married, and I have needs that a girl such as yourself can take care of easily. You can’t get out of it, and you’re going to learn to enjoy it.”

Haru could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she did everything within her power to keep them from creeping out. He would probably get a kick from seeing the tears tumble down her face. She wanted to yell, to swat him away, to tell him she wasn’t his toy that he could use however he felt. She wanted to defend herself, but she wasn’t capable of it. Haru knew that her fate was set, and she couldn’t destroy the determined outcome. She was going to be stuck with that man for the rest of her life, and she had no say in the matter.

She couldn’t marry a man she loved, but would a man she despised because it was expected of an Okumura daughter. Her father didn’t believe her, and all he saw was a business venture that would benefit him and the men involved. Her future wasn’t hers to choose but was predetermined by her father. She knew it would happen to her eventually, but she wished that the future husband-to-be wouldn’t have been as sleazy as Sugimura. 

“…I’m sorry Sugimura-san, I’m still just a high schooler, and a minor…” she allowed those words to sneak out of her throat. She used that as her go-to excuse when he came onto her. It was all the truth, but the reality of being a student would only last for less than a year. Once she graduated, her father was free to use her as he pleased. She would still be a minor of course, till she turned 20, but that wouldn’t matter by then.

The older man let go of her shoulder and face after a grumble of indistinguishable words poured out. His eyes were glossed over in annoyance like they usually did when she used that line on him. Haru wasn’t sure how much more patience he had to keep hearing the line, but thankfully it worked to an extent. She would need to think of other excuses for the future… 

“Fine,” he grumbled as he looked away from her face and down at her chest, “At least wear something more appealing than that sweater jacket when I’m here. Your breasts would look much more appealing if you didn’t wear that thing.”

If she wasn’t afraid of what he’d do to her, or the repercussions she’d face from her father, she would have loved to slap him across the face for the crude comment. Maybe the axe idea wasn’t so bad after all. She could say it was self-dense…

“I-I’ll try to keep that in mind for next time,” she spoke in a barely audible tone. Haru wished there wouldn’t be a next time internally. She liked wearing the sweater. Being able to pick out and wear her own clothes was one for the few things her father didn’t care about controlling. 

Sugimura gave her a disgustingly full of himself smirk, “Good, you’re learning at least.” 

As if the heavens were taking pity on her, a ping from his phone went off. He pulled away from her personal space and sat up. He then pulled out his phone and checked the message. 

“It appears my ride has returned, so we must part ways for the evening,” spoke Sugimura as he walked in front of her and bent his face close to hers. He attempted to kiss her, but she turned her head away at the right time to avoid the contact. She was awfully good at avoiding it, so for the time being, her lips hadn’t been tainted by his. Another annoyed sound came out of his throat, but he didn’t say anything.

Haru thought she was in the clear when he backed away slightly. Unfortunately, she jerked her back when she felt a hand groping at her right breast roughly. Sugimura then ducked his head to her ear and whispered connivingly, “At least this has a nice feel to it, unlike your face. You should use a new moisturizer or something Haru. I’ll be looking forward to when I get to feel both your breasts unclothed.”  
He then pulled away from her stiff body, and after one final demonic glare, the man made his way out of her living room. As soon as he was gone, Haru quickly wrapped her arms over her chest and shot up. She needed a bath. She needed to get his touch off of her body. She could still feel the prickles of his devilish touch burning against her chin, and her chest ached in disgust. She felt like she would be sick. 

Haru quickly rushed to her room to grab her pajamas as she tried to stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks. Not there, she couldn’t cry in the hallway. Her chest burned in agony with every step she took as her mind raced with all the horrible things, she knew he would do to her when her defense could no longer stay up. Sugimura was going to taint her body to a point where just looking at herself would make her feel revolted. 

The bathroom was large, spacious, and modern much like the rest of the home. The room had a western styled showerhead on one side, and a bathtub and stool on the other side. The home allowed them to bathe in both western and traditional, depending on their mood or if they were in a hurry. Once inside, Haru quickly stripped herself of her clothing. She needed to tell a maid to thoroughly clean her clothes, it wasn’t like she could just burn them. She liked the idea, but she needed her uniform and loved the sweater. 

Haru then went to the side of the bathroom with the showerhead and washed excessively. The water was hot, and she scrubbed against her skin roughly after she washed her hair. She didn’t want any remnants of his scent or touch on her body. By the time she felt the disgustingly emotionless warmth of his touch fade from her, Haru walked over to the tub and turned on the spigot. Once the scolding water filled up the tub, she dunked herself into it and cried her eyes out. She couldn’t hold back the tears as the dread continued to attack her body and soul.

“Someone…save me…please…” she cried into her legs as she held them to her chest tightly. The hot water felt soothing against her skin as if it would burn away any lingering fragrances from Sugimura. That wasn’t the first time he touched her in a perverted manner, he had ‘accidentally’ touched her rear when they were out once. He at least fake apologized for that.

That was the worst he had done to her so far, and she was deathly afraid of what he would do to her next time. His words about feeling her up unclothed sent shivers of dread throughout her body, and the sinking feeling swirled around in her stomach. Haru knew that eventually, he’d do everything she dreaded to her innocent body. 

“…I hate this,” she sniffled into her legs as she tightly clenched them, “I hate…all of this…I wish someone…would save me.”

Haru knew there was no escape from the labyrinth. Her fate was sealed the moment Kunikazu agreed to sell her off to that terrible man. If he had never changed, would he have not sold her off to him? Would he have allowed her to choose her own future? Would he have allowed her to marry for love and not for the sake of money and power?

Haru pulled her puffy, reddened face away from her legs and rested her head against the tub so she could look up at the ceiling, “If they are real…could the Phantom Thieves change his heart? Could they save me…from this fate?”

If those mysterious beings truly existed, could they be the ones to save her from her terrible fate? If they changed him, Kunikazu wouldn’t marry her off, right? He would go back to his old self that was dedicated to his company but still tried to make time for her. He wouldn’t be the harsh man that forgot how to show her affection. Right? 

Haru pulled her left hand away from her leg so she could rub away the tears on her face. After doing so, she pulled her hand closer and saw some specks of blood on her fingernails. That wouldn’t be the first time she gripped herself so tight that she broke the skin. She did so when she got extremely irritated but couldn’t say a word of her true feelings, or when she was incredibly upset. In either case, she rarely noticed the immense strength she applied until she saw the blood. She couldn’t even register the pain until she saw it on her hand. 

She didn’t even know what they did to Mr. Kamoshida, or if they did anything at all. For all, she knew he became paranoid and allowed the guilt to eat away at him on the inside. Everything was still shrouded in complete mystery, but, “…it doesn’t hurt to cling onto some hope…right?” After saying those words, she dipped herself further into the warm water. The water was the only comfort she would receive that night. It wasn’t like her father would listen to her if she told him what had transpired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I’m so sorry for writing this abuse towards Haru. This was meant to be a fun chapter with Makoto but then I remembered I hadn’t included the asshat in yet and he needed the screen time sadly for down the road. If interested you can find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Winterbunny12


	8. The Phantom Thieves Victory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got a quick update from me, and it’s back to the overarching plot rather than Haru abuse. This is also the longest chapter to date, which wasn’t intended, woops.

5/2 Monday  
  
Haru arrived at school earlier than usual. She explained to her chauffeur that she needed to attend to her crops more than normal. It wasn’t exactly a lie; she did need to make sure they were taken care of before she’d receive a few days off for Golden Week. She had access to the school whenever she wanted thanks to the principal giving her a key. Yet, there were times when she couldn’t physically get there due to prior scheduling.  
  
 _“It’s only because of my name,”_ she thought to herself as she stared out to the scenery beyond the rooftop, _“He’d probably do anything I’d ask if it meant I could have Father give him some favors.”_

While Makoto had advocated for Haru to be allowed all access to the roof for the sake of the crops, the pudgy man likely would have complied with the request even if she hadn’t. He always seemed overly kind to the affluent girl. She just wanted to be allowed on the roof. Somehow though, that resulted in her not only getting a key for the roof, but also to all of the school’s access points.

Any normal student would never be allowed essentially 24/7 access to the school, but her being an Okumura was the key factor in the decision. He described it as a way for her to always be able to take care of the crops. Haru was a good girl with good grades after all. She would never cause any damage to the school, so he had no reason to be concerned.

He, of course, later asked if Haru could set up a meeting between him and Kunikazu. She didn’t have it in her to say no. Not because she felt any gratitude toward him, but because she didn’t feel like being hounded over and over by him. She dealt with it enough in the past to know that people could get really vindictive if their ass kissing didn’t pull through.

Thanks to her VIP treatment, she could basically show up whenever. That worked out in her favor that day. Haru had locked herself in her room on Sunday after the physical and mental assault from Sugimura. She wasn’t in any mood for human interaction and did her best to focus on her balcony garden and schoolwork. She needed to stay busy to keep her mind off of him, so she wouldn’t feel disgusted or get upset all over again.

So, she left as soon as she could to go focus on her rooftop crops. It continued to be a good distraction till she completed her duties. She decided that after the extra care she gave them that morning, she could skip going after school to go shopping. Once she was done, and sat down on the roofing and stared out into the scenery. It was comforting in its own way, to just be able to watch the world slightly change as the minutes ticked on. She was safe up there, no one could cause her any harm in her miniscule sanctuary. She’d be okay by the end of the day she told herself.

Haru watched as the tiny specs of the student body flowed into the school. The wind blew a cool but comforting breeze that tickled against her cheeks. Being high up always provided her body with a strong wind, but she liked it. An uplifting cool breeze, nice view, and safety was something she couldn’t get at home.

Before she knew it, the time had come for her to vacate the sanctuary of her garden. She had to change back into her uniform, and the school was holding an assembly that morning. It would be a boring affair, but she had to attend it nonetheless. It would likely be about what had happened with Shiho. Granted, it wasn’t a surprise the school waited till weeks later to say anything about the attempted suicide. The faculty didn’t care enough to lock the roof, so it was doubtful they were affected by the incident.

So, the third-year made her way down the steps and changed out of her tracksuit after returning the watering can. There was still a little bit of time before the assembly would begin, but she determined it’d be easier to get there earlier to avoid the crowd of bored students attempting to push their way into the gym. It wasn’t too crowded when she walked in, and to her surprise, she spotted Makoto toward the front of the gym.

“Mako-chan,” spoke Haru in a light tone as she trotted to her side, “Good morning.”

The brunette turned her head to face her companion and replied with a small smile, “Good morning to you as well Haru.”

“Do you know what the principal is going to speak to us about?” asked Haru as she glanced up to the empty stage, “Will it be about the attempted suicide?”

Makoto shook her head in response, “I don’t know, I wasn’t informed about what he’d discuss today. It’s likely though.”

“Ah, I see,” replied Haru as she turned her head away from Makoto and toward the doors that lead into the gym. More students had started to make their way inside. She noticed the familiar face of Akira’s twin-tailed companion, Ann, as she made her way toward the front.

The younger girl looked on edge as she approached the same location as the third-years. She stopped a few inches away from them and stood among other random students that were chatting about the upcoming holiday. Ann didn’t notice Haru’s stare until she turned her head with a mix of frustration and uncertainty floating around in her light blue eyes.

“Um, good morning Takamaki-san,” spoke Haru in a light, friendly voice when they made eye contact. She didn’t know much about her besides her having foreign blood, being rudely accused of being a slut, and being friends with Akira and Shiho. Nonetheless, Haru wanted to attempt to be friendly with her.

Ann gave her a surprised look for a brief second before she replied, “Morning, Okumura-senpai, Miss. Student Council President,” While she gave Haru a small smile, likely due to their shared friend, her glare toward Makoto wasn’t kind. If anything, she looked more irritated the moment she made contact with the brunette.

Haru was going to ask her how she was doing before Ann turned her head away from them with a small huff. The auburn-haired girl turned to the brunette next to her and gave her a quizzical look. As far as she knew, Makoto and Ann didn’t know each other.

“She probably doesn’t like me,” replied Makoto as she folded her arms around her chest, “Wouldn’t be surprised if it has to do with her friend. She probably thinks I’m guilty in some way. How do you know her Haru?”

“Oh, I just know her from seeing her with Kurusu-kun. I haven’t really talked to her, but I don’t think she’s a bad person,” explained Haru as she thought back to the day, she watched Ann interact with her two male friends. Akira had told her Ann was a supportive and rather feisty friend that wanted justice for Shiho.

“Remember to be careful around him Haru,” replied Makoto in a bit of a harsh tone, “Even if he comes off as a good person, he still has a record. You don’t know what he’s really capable of doing. Especially if he learns of your home situation.”

“Mako-chan, he isn’t going to do anything to me,” replied Haru in a disappointed voice, “Kurusu-kun has been a complete gentleman with me.”  
  
 _“Unlike that man,”_ she thought to herself as her mind jumped to Sugimura. Haru kept the fiancé thing a secret from Makoto much like other aspects of her home life. Makoto knew of her wealthy family, but that was the extent of it. She appreciated her kindness but didn’t want to burden the busy student council president with her situation. Makoto always had important matters to attend to, be it school or doing things for her sister. Haru would feel guilty if she’d take her time and put it toward a situation that was near impossible to change.

If anything, Sugimura was the criminal despite the positivity that spewed from the mouths of other people that knew of him. Businessmen always talked about how lucky she was when in reality she believed she was cursed. Ironic, the supposedly ‘bad boy’ was far kinder to her than the one with a pedigree and fancy suit, _“Kurusu-kun would make a much better fiancé than him.”_

After the thought surfaced in her mind, an auditable squeak seeped from her lips as she felt her cheeks warm up. Haru shook her head back and forth to rid the embarrassing thought from her mind. Akira was defiantly a gentleman unlike Sugimura but thinking such things wouldn’t be good for her heart.

“You okay?” asked Makoto as she watched her companion, “You look a little red.”

Haru nodded quickly at Makoto without saying a word. She needed to keep such silly thoughts out of her mind, much like the occasional gruesome ones. She then took in a small breath and felt the hue fade away. She’d be fine, just act normal, don’t think such things.

“Anyway Haru,” spoke Makoto as she began to thankfully change the subject, “I’m able to make some time during the break if you still wanted to see a movie or do something else. Just nothing too…scary this time please.”

Ahh yes, the last movie they saw was a horror film and Makoto didn’t take it so well. The brunette attempted to be unaffected by the genre for her friend’s sake, but by the middle of it she failed completely. It was more predictable than scary to Haru, but Makoto was frightened out of her mind. She got scared at every little jump scare and ended up clinging to Haru’s arm in fear. At times she even hid her face into Haru’s shoulder as she mumbled something along the lines of, “this isn’t real,” a few times.

“A scared Mako-chan is cute to watch though,” giggled Haru as she raised her hand to her mouth, “You always try to keep a stoic face at school, so it’s hard to see another side of you. It was rather fun.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” replied Makoto with a tiny huff, “I prefer people to _not_ see that side of me thank you.”

Another giggle seeped out of Haru’s throat which triggered a tiny blush to cross Makoto’s cheeks. She always attempted to put up a front of being serious and stoic, but she did have a cute side that she tried to hide. Haru was likely the only person, with the exception of Makoto’s sister, to be graced with a glimpse of that side. Makoto preferred if Haru hadn’t seen it, but it felt like it brought them a little closer.

“I’ll look into one a cute movie, okay?” replied Haru lightly. Both girls weren’t exactly keen on what was normal to do during an outing. Makoto spent most of her time cooped up studying and doing student council business. Haru at least was well versed in upcoming movies, cafés, and greenhouses, so that was something for them to do.

“It doesn’t have to be a cute one, just something not really scary would be fine,” replied Makoto in a calm tone, “An action or thriller movie would be good.”  
  
Haru was about to replay when she caught the sight of the principal as he made his way slowly over to the mic. That was when the mummers of students greeted her ears. They were saying that it was a waste of time and that they weren’t going to try and kill themselves.

After the bald man tapped at the microphone below him, he began to speak, “Quiet down everyone, it’s time to start the school-wide morning assembly. As I’m sure everyone knows, a tragic event occurred the other day.”

“Eighteen days ago, that isn’t the other day,” spoke Ann in a low but irritated tone. Haru turned her head to watch the girl as she clenched her fist and the anger intensified in her eyes.

“We’ve thankfully been informed she will pull through. As of right though, her recovery will take a lot of time. I want everyone here to remember that you have a bright future ahead of you. Please rethink the importance of living and-” spoke the principal before a loud door slammed and caused him to twist his head.

All of the students turned their head to spy Mr. Kamoshida standing off to the right side of the gym. He had his head dropped; eyes glued to the floor in shame as the room watched his body. Murmurs started to spread from the student's mouth about how surprised they were to see him. That was the first time he had appeared at the school since the calling card incident.

“Mr. Kamoshida, why are you here?” asked the principal in an almost panicked tone.

“I…I have been reborn. That’s why I’m here today, I need to confess my sins to the whole school,” spoke the coach before he started to slowly walk in front of all the students. He ascended the small staircase to reach the stage and stood at the edge of it.

“Confess?” mumbled Makoto as she watched he teacher intently, “Confess to what?”

Haru turned to look at Makoto, who was perplexed. She held her chin with her fingers as she watched every single movement the coach made. She then turned to Ann, who wore a similar face of confusion but retained her anger. The whole room reeked of confusion, except for the principal. He seemed very uncomfortable and was even sweating a bit. It was as if he had just been caught doing something wrong.

“I have repeatedly done things that were…unbecoming of a teacher,” he spoke before taking a short pause, “Verbally abusing students, physically abusing my team, and….sexually harassing female students. I’m the sole reason to blame for Suzui-san attempting suicide!”

The room erupted in chatter at that point. While Haru knew of the physical abuse, the sexual part was not on her radar. When the realization of what the coach implied on that day hit her…a shiver shot up her spine. He wasn’t going to just hurt her, was he? He was…just like Sugimura. Her sympathy toward the victims increased immensely at that moment alone, and so did her disdain for the coach.

“There is no way!” spoke a girl behind her, “He never did anything like that with me!”

“So, the bastard was hurting him,” mumbled a boy in front of her angrily, “Kurusu and his friends were telling the truth.”

Another boy in front of her dropped his head and turned his hand into a fist, “No…no way. He…he can’t be that type of person. He’s always so supportive and kind with me.”

As the murmurs continued to come from the students, the coach collapsed to his knees, which he held with his hands. He trembled in shame and looked like a simple tap would cause him to fall onto his face. Said face contorted in agony as if the guilt was killing him from the inside. Tears started to leak from his eyes as he wretchedly cried as he continued to shake as if he was a frightened child. His deposition was completely different from the man that threatened her and had hurt so many other innocent students.  
  
“This school was like my very own castle, and I did whatever I please. I selfishly sentenced students to expulsion all because I didn’t like them. They are innocent of everything I accused of them and I will, of course, rescind those,” he spoke as he shook his head around violently as snot and tears collapsed on top the floor.

_“Thank goodness,”_ Haru thought to herself as she pulled her hand to her chest, _“Kurusu-kun and his friends are safe now.”_

“I am truly sorry for everything I have done to the innocent youths of this school. I am an arrogant, shallow, lustful, despicable person. No…no…I am the lowest of the low,” cried Mr. Kamoshida before he dropped his body to the floor and bowed in front of the students.

“I will take responsibility for my sinful crimes and kill myself!” hysterically cried the coach, “Death is the only option I have after everything I’ve done!”

The principal’s head shot around the room dramatically, as if he was trying to take in all of Mr. Kamoshida’s words. Haru could hear all of the chatter from her fellow students and saw Ann clench her fist as she stared at him. She looked like she was about to burst with fiery fury. If looks alone could kill, she’d be able to murder him in a second. She then looked over to Makoto, and she looked as though she couldn’t formulate any words about the situation.  

The chubby man comically ran over to the coach and raised his arm angrily as he yelled, “Mr. Kamoshida! Please get off the stage! This isn’t good for the students!”

Teachers started to push into the students at that point and attempted to usher them away from the scene. None of the students dispersed though, and teachers looked at them with an annoyed glare. Makoto could have ruptured out in an attempt to get them to leave, but chose to stare at the man and ignored the comments. Mr. Kamoshida attempted to speak again but couldn’t get anywhere.

“Don’t run away you bastard!” yelled Ann from what felt like the bottom of her soul before she flung her body forward in irritation, “Despite all of the disgusting things you did to Shiho to make her want to die, she’s still alive! She lived through your torture and her jumping! You have no fucking right run off and die when she’s alive! Death is the easy way out!”

“You’re right…you’re absolutely right,” he said as he raised himself up from the ground, “My death won’t erase the things I’ve done, so I must be punished under the law and atone for my crimes. That’s…that is what I must do.”

“You better!” yelled Ann as a victorious smirk crossed her face for a brief moment, “Do it for all the people you hurt! They deserve justice!”

Mr. Kamoshida nodded his head before he spoke again, “I…I also did horrible things to Takamaki-san. I attempted to force her into a sexual relationship in return for giving Suzui-san her position on the team. I tried to have her sleep with me and when she denied my advances, I took it out on Suzui-san.”

The room filled with silence at that moment so they could take in what he had just said. The level of his depravity went so much further than Haru expected. That man was utterly terrible and deserved to be punished as much as the law would allow. She wondered; just how many people had he abused during his tenure at the academy? Haru turned her head over to Ann, who was watching him intently.

“As of today, I will resign from my position as an instructor and turn myself over to the police,” after those words he started to pitifully crawl around the floor as he yelled, “Someone, please call the police! I need to be turned in!”

“He looks utterly pathetic…” mumbled Makoto as watched his actions, “How could I…”

Haru turned her head to her in a curious manner, “Mako-chan?”  
  
Haru wouldn’t be given a response, for it seemed like Makoto had either ignored her or was unable to notice her existence. She appeared utterly immersed in the man before, or something else had taken hold of her thoughts. Whatever it was must have bothered her to make her normally calm red eyes slightly waver.

Mr. Kamoshida continued to thrash around on the stage when more teachers started to push themselves into the crowd of students in an attempt to get them out of the gym. Haru watched as other teachers went onto the stage in an attempt to stop the man from throwing himself around while on his knees. Every time someone would grab at him, he threw them off of his arm with ease. The principal just watched the scene, not like he would be capable of helping.

“I’m not going anywhere until the police come to take me away!” he cried as two male teachers grabbed both of his arms in an attempt to pull him up, “Let me go! I need the police to take me away from here!”

He easily threw the other two off of his arms. Reigning in the unhinged man would be difficult due to his physic. It was like trying to capture an irritated wild animal. Every time a teacher tried to grab the coach they would be shoved off. Haru believed the only way to stop the man from throwing his weight around was for the police to come and arrest him. That was all he wanted. The students continued to watch the disturbing scene unfold despite the cries for them to leave. As they watched they couldn’t help but talk about the same thing.  

“This has to do with the calling card, right?” asked a female student from behind Haru.

“The Phantom Thieves have to be real!” declared a boy nearby happily, “So cool!”

“This is a victory for the Phantom Thieves, isn’t it?” spoke Haru lowly as she continued to watch the man, “This mean…they exist and can really change hearts?”

“Phantom Thieves,” mumbled Makoto in a surprise response, “Changing hearts, huh…”

Haru couldn’t help but feel an ounce of hope build up in her stomach. Mr. Kamoshida was obviously a changed man. There was no comparison between the man that threatened her and the quivering person on the stage. He was truly different and the newfound guilt made him appear as though he had lost his mind. He wanted to be punished for his repulsive crimes when just a little while ago he acted pompously and believed he was untouchable.

 The room was filled with talk about the mysterious thieves that seemed to have completed the mission mentioned on the calling card. It seemed like they would become the new trend to talk about. With a mission successfully completed, would they go after more wrongdoers? Would they change more hearts in some mythical way?  
  
 _“Could they…”_ she thought to herself as she gripped at her skirt, _“…actually save me?”_

* * *

The rest of the day was much different than every other. After what felt like forever, the students left the auditorium. Haru honestly wanted to watch some more but left with Makoto who urged her to head back. Makoto felt she needed to set an example for the other students, along with seeing if the teachers needed her help with anything. The police did eventually arrive, but she would need to learn more later from Makoto. The classes that followed were filled with nothing but talk about the incident and the Phantom Thieves.

She wasn’t much different; she could barely focus on her classwork. Granted, it would be impossible for anyone to focus after the insanity of the morning. It was bizarre that the principal didn’t just send them home after all of that. The girl couldn’t believe the calling card and the change of heart was merely a coincidence. They all connected, immoral activity led to a calling card that led to a very obvious change in the coach. She had no clue just how it could be done, but was intrigued by it. They were heroes in a situation that would of lead to more abuse.  
  
When lunch started, she continued those thoughts as she made her way to the vending machine she usually used. Haru was so caught up in said thoughts as she approached the machine in the hallway, she didn’t even notice who was standing next to her. As she put the coins in and decided on which tea she wanted, a tap was applied to her on her shoulder. As the drink made a clang from falling, she looked to her left to find the source of the tap.

“Yo, how ya doin’ Miss. Tomato Chick,” spoke Ryuji as he waved his canned drink at her with a dorky grin. He stood near the other machine, and it appeared he was about to leave but came back when he saw her to say hello.

“Oh-oh! Hello…Sakamoto-kun,” she replied as she tried to remember his name. It seemed that she had received a nickname from the boy, but it didn’t bother her. Nicknames were something she enjoyed giving but never received.

“Her name is Haru Ryuji,” spoke another voice which belonged to Akira, who was standing near his friend. He was a little further down the hallway then him, his back against a wall with a drink that stuck out of his left pocket.

“Oh, and hello to you too Kurusu-kun,” spoke Haru in her usual tone.

Ryuji turned his head over to his friend and gave him a silly look before redirecting his gaze to the upperclassman, “Sooo, what did ya think ‘bout that shit with Kamoshida? Those Phantom Thieves are so cool, right? Thanks to them that bustard is gonna get what he deserves!”

Akira gave him a slight glare of disproval, but Ryuji couldn’t see it and probably didn’t care, “Mr. Kamoshida is truly wicked, and I’m glad all of those poor students will get justice. While on the thieves, they’re interesting. I want to think they’re real because of everything that happened seems to connect to each other too well to be a coincidence.”

If she was being honest, Haru did go back to the possibility Akira and his friends had some sort of involvement in the incident. They were still connected to it, but she did her best to rid those thoughts for the sake of the trust she instilled in them.

Ryuji nodded his head along as she spoke with a silly grin, “See Akira, I’m not the only one that thinks that! They’re so cool, and maybe good looking too! I wonder who they could be!”

“Ryuji, cool it on the fanboying,” spoke Akira as he lightly tapped Ryuji’s shoulder with the palm of his hand, “It’s good to know they changed Kamoshida and saved our asses from expulsion, but that’s all we know for now.”  
              
“Yeah right dude, you two and Mishima probably threatened Mr. Kamoshida with assault or something to get him to say that shit,” pipped in a voice from the side of them.

Off to the side of the hall was a group of three male students, while the one that spoke stood in front of the other two. While the companions both looked surprised at the outburst, their maybe leader had a scowl on his face. Haru recognized him the that morning’s assembly as the boy that was extremely shocked up when Mr. Kamoshida confessed to his crimes.

“Come on dude!”  yelled Ryuji as he slummed his shoulders and turned to face the boy, “Like hell, we did any shit like that! Yer jus’ runnin’ yer mouth since your precious volleyball idol turned out to be a perverted, abusive asshole! Just accept the facts an’ move on.”

 The loud boy pulled away from his friend group, despite the one that tried to tug on his shoulder to pull him away from the confrontation. He walked up to Ryuji and stared into his eyes, “How do I know he wasn’t blackmailed by you three? We have no proof these Phantom Thieves exist. I mean, you’re just some lackey but your buddy over there is the real criminal.”

He then turned his body away from Ryuji and walked up to Akira who had pulled away from the wall, “You have a knife on you at all times, right? Everyone says you do. How do I know you didn’t get your lackeys to try and hold down Mr. Kamoshida as you threatened to cut him up if he didn’t do what you wanted?! You guys already tried to attack him before!”  
  
As Haru watched the scene unfold, she pulled her hands up to her chest. The boy, whoever he was, looked like he was going to try and pick a fight with the two. She never understood how anyone could blindly follow the coach. For the girls, she could rationalize as them being interested in his looks somehow. For that boy, maybe it was a case of being in denial over a person he looked up too as Ryuji put it? He did seem fond of the coach that morning.

Students, as she observed, all took the news differently. Some weren’t surprised, but others just wouldn’t accept the very words that spewed from the coach’s mouth. His behavior looked nothing like an act. It felt too genuine.

“Everyone knows that you’ve done some screwed up stuff, so who’s to say you didn’t do anything to him in an attempt to save yourselves from expulsion? You did assault someone else already! You’d get sent off to juvie if you get in trouble again, right?” spewed the angry boy.

Akira didn’t say anything to him and just looked away as his body tensed up. His face didn’t show much emotion, but his eyes allowed a minor shimmer of grief. She knew it had bothered him, being labeled as a criminal when what he did was just. He liked the roof for the same reason she did, it was a safe space away from the world’s cruelty. While he wasn’t the type to be bolstering with energy like Ryuji, he always had a glimmer of happiness in his eyes and a soft smile. Seeing him look down while being aggressively badmouthed hurt.

“Leave him alone, you know nothing ‘bout his situation!” yelled Ryuji as he grabbed at the boy’s shoulder and tried to pull him away. The student just shoved Ryuji off which caused him to stomp his foot in annoyance.

“Like I care about whatever he did! I just want to know what you delinquents did to make such a great man behave like that! There is no way he could have done any of that stuff!” he yelled again, but decided to shove Akira who was still giving him the silent treatment. He backed up from the push but didn’t look at the angry boy.

“Everything Kamoshida said was true, we didn’t blackmail him into it,” spoke Akira lowly, “You have to accept that he wasn’t the person you thought he was and move forward.”

The boy gave an annoyed ‘tch’ rather than saying anything else. He raised his hand and slammed it against the wall next to them. Even the slam didn’t cause the glasses wearing boy to look up at the other student. He didn’t seem afraid, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt his heart.

Haru couldn’t stand seeing Akira being treated so cruelly. She knew the situation was going to get violent at some point. That boy was too aggravated to think rationally about anything. Had Akira been as violent as the school thought he was, he would have just thrown him against the wall and beaten him by that point. The situation should be enough to prove he wasn’t confrontational like they calmed, but she doubted people would actually believe it.

 She wanted to help Akira in return for the kindness he had shown her. He didn’t deserve to be treated like that. She knew the feeling of being talked down on so much it that those words stung at her chest. It was all too familiar. She knew how hard it was to defend oneself, even if the person had the willpower to do it. So, Haru recalled the words from Akira of gathering her courage so she could speak her mind. That was…that was her chance to be a heroine rather than a princess.

“Th-that’s enough of this behavior,” spoke Haru without thinking as she pulled away from her spot behind Ryuji and placed herself by the two boys, “Your accusations of Kurusu-kun and his friends are misguided. You have no proof of anything concerning the situation with Mr. Kamoshida.”  
  
The student turned away from Akira and looked at her with a confused look. He scanned his eyes over her body and the confusion didn’t fade from his face, “Why is a girl like yourself standing up for a criminal? That doesn’t make sense to me.”

“W-well,” she stammered before she stole a glance at Akira who looked equally confused, “He’s not a bad person like you think. He’s a very kind, and comforting person to be with. An-anyway, it’d be impossible for two high school boys to hold down Mr. Kamoshida when two teachers couldn’t do so when he was thrashing around on stage earlier. Please think over what happened instead of jumping to conclusions and blaming Kurusu-kun and his friends. Mr. Kamoshida seemed genuine this morning, and no ounce of blackmail or threats I feel could make someone react like that.”

The boy dropped his head as if he recalled the incident from that morning and allowed it to play through his mind. He bit at his lip and the annoyance didn’t fade from his eyes. Akira still looked surprised at her and appeared as though he wanted to say something. When she stared her eyes over to Ryuji, he looked shocked and had his mouth open a little.

“Doesn’t mean that these guys didn’t do anything to him,” mumbled the boy as he gripped his fist tightly.

“I think you need to calm down, rethink everything, and wait for more information to come out instead of blaming others. Believing in baseless rumors won’t help you any. I can understand it is hard to think someone you look up to is actually bad,” she spoke in a calm voice, but she did let her eyes drop to the floor at the last sentence.

The student didn’t say anything, so Haru turned her head over to his friends. They were both standing in the same spot, yet neither had spoken. A few other students had gathered to watch the confrontation. They all stood in silence for a few moments before Haru got an idea and pulled out her phone. She opened up her contacts and scrolled down to Makoto’s number.

“If you’d like, I’m friends with the student council president,” started Haru as she showed the boy the name and number, “Would you like me to call her over to help resolve this situation? If you don’t trust what I say, I’m sure you could trust her instead, considering her position.”

The boy flinched when he saw the phone. Haru didn’t intend it be a threat per say, she honestly believed Makoto would be a good listener and help out the student. The school didn’t have a counselor, so Makoto would make a good stand-in or could get a teacher to help. His anger and confusion were understandable, but there was no guarantee he’d take Haru’s words to heart. If that would be the case, having some back up that could inflict fear would be helpful. She didn’t want Akira to get hit by the aggravated student.

The boy stood there for a few more seconds before he mumbled, “Damn it,” and made his way back to his group and lead them along down the hallway in a huff. The other two refrained from speaking, and the random students that watched the scene start to mumble. She didn’t pay any attention to their words; all her mind could think of was she got to play hero for once. It felt nice, being able to stand up for someone like she always wanted to. If only she could do that at home…

“Woooo good work there Miss. Tomato Chick!” spoke Ryuji in a playful voice as he walked closer to her and patted her back a bit roughly, “I was worried I’d hav’ ta scare him off somehow. You sure got a good eye there Akira!”

Akira then stepped closer to her and spoke while playing with a strand of his hair, “Thank you Haru, I wasn’t expecting you to step in like that. It was courageous of you to tell him all of that, I really appreciate it.”  
  
Haru felt herself blush a bit and waved her hands in front of her face, “I-it was nothing! I, I um…I was worried that it was going to get violent and wanted to help. I didn’t like seeing him saying such rude about you without even knowing you. I wanted to stop him from hurting you any more than he already had. What he said about you even hurt my own heart…”

Much to the girl’s surprise, a light shade of pink crossed over the younger boy’s face before he turned away from her and started to rub the back of his neck. She turned her head in confusion, and went over what she just said. The last line she said was…oh. She felt her cheeks heat up some more. If someone said that to her, she would have reacted about the same. Expect for some squeaks.

“Yo dude, you’re blushing, aren’t ya! I didn’t think you were capable of being embarrassed! So much for the calm and collected pretty boy demeanor you had goin’ for ya,” cooed Ryuji with a small snicker before he realized something, “Hold on, where is my thanks?! I tried to help too man! I should get some praise too!”

Haru turned her gaze to behind her and the few students had already made there way down the hall or were at the vending machines…wait, she didn’t grab her drink from earlier! She walked back to the machine she used as the boys chatted back and forth. When she bent down to look for it, she realized someone had taken the tea.

“Woops,” she mumbled to herself as she went to reach for change purse in her sweater pocket, “Silly me.”

The boys looked back over to her with confused expressions which prompted her to respond, “Someone took my drink. I left it in the machine when that boy started to harass you Kurusu-kun.”

Akira in response walked over to her and pulled a couple of 100-yen coins from his other pocket. He grabbed her left hand gently, and placed them into her palm, “Here, as a thank you.”

Haru shook her head in response, “It’s okay Kurusu-kun! I can pay for one myself! I have…more than enough to cover it,” she explained as he continued to hold onto her hand.

Akira shook his head as well, and his frizzy hair went everywhere as he did so. The boy then gave her hand a light squeeze before giving her a sweet smile, “It’s okay, take it as a sign of my appreciation. You really helped me out back there Haru.”

The two shared eye contact for what seemed like an eternity. The dark eyes that were just hiding away sadness was filled with a gentle shine. Instead of using words, he was trying to convivence her through his kind facial expression. She definitely felt her face heat up from his soft smile. After an undisclosed amount of time passed, he let go of her hand and made his way back to Ryuji who elbowed him in the gut playfully.

“Do I get any special signs of appreciation?” he asked as Haru pulled the coins clenched in her palm to her chest.

“Nope,” replied Akira in a deadpan voice with a small smirk.

“No fair man,” replied Ryuji as he dropped his head in a comedic fashion, “Some way to treat yer best bud.”

As Ryuji held his head in the same style Akira once more turned his head to face Haru, “Thank you again. We should get going so I’ll talk to you later.”

She couldn’t pull any words from her throat, but she was able to nod her head as she continued to hold the coins close to her. Ryuji then lifted his head up and gave her a friendly grin and spoke, “Yeah, thanks for the help. You probably saved me from getting into a fight.”

It looked like they were about to head off to where ever when Akira decided to turn around once more and asked another question, “Are you going to the roof today?”  
  
“N-no, I spent a lot of time there this morning so they should be good,” she replied simply, surprised that words decided to cooperate that time, “If you think they need to be watered, you can help them out.”

He gave her a simple nod and started to walk away with Ryuji in tow. His friend then wrapped his arm over his shoulder and started to laugh about something she wasn’t sure of. She watched them walk away cheerfully until they were completely out of her sight. She then took a deep breath and turned to face the vending machine.

She finally pulled her hand away from her chest and stared at the coins in her palm. Three 100-yen coins. They were nothing compared to what she’d receive from Sugimura. Most people wouldn’t even consider a drink a gift. Was it even a gift or was it meant as a reward for helping him? She honestly didn’t know. Even so, being give them as a thank you made her feel something that she never experienced with the older man. It actually made her really happy.

“Kurusu-kun…” she mumbled to herself with a sad smile as she continued to look at the coins, “He really isn’t going to be good for my heart.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, this was one dialogue-heavy chapter, but at least we got plot and some ship tease? I wanted to follow the game’s dialogue somewhat but of course, I didn’t want to just copy it word for word. I hope ya enjoyed~


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